SOS
by xxxShi.Ro
Summary: when ichigo's zanpakuto is replaced with a shuriken and kunai what will he do? who can help him out of the strange situation he finds himself in? not naruto, he faces his own predicament. its an all out S.O.S. red alert, someone make sense of the madness!
1. Strawberries And Cherry Blossoms

STRAWBERRIES AND CHERRY BLOSSOMS

Ichigo awoke with a headache, a blinding headache. His entire body felt sore. What the hell had he been through? He couldn't remember. There was a bandage on his forehead, he could feel it. Why? Surely Orihime would have healed all his wounds, so why the need for a bandage? Could something have possibly happened to her, what was going on? The thoughts swirling around in his mind did nothing to ease his physical pain, and instead only heightened his mental uneasiness. He sat up abruptly and opened his eyes, in order to evaluate the situation. He blinked a few times, trying to clear his blurry vision. He was in a hospital room, not at his father's clinic and not at the fourth division headquarters either, so where?

So many questions, the answers not even within reach. He back tracked, trying to make sense of the events that happened previously. How did he even black out? Surely nothing Grimmjow could've done to him could have had this effect on him. He wanted to throw up; he never felt so uncomfortable in his own body, something felt very off. Could Szayel have possibly kidnapped him and done some weird experiments on him? He wouldn't put it past the deranged Espada, but how? Why couldn't he remember anything?

In an attempt to answer his questions, he carefully climbed out of bed [well as carefully as Ichigo ever did anything, which was more like jumping out of bed haphazardly at full speed]. After taking a moment to regain his senses, he proceeded to walk toward the door. He was feeling stranger than before now that he was standing. The proportions of the room felt odd, he felt shorter. If anything, he'd say he _was_ shorter. While trying to clear his mind, he pushed his hair out of his face. It felt softer, he examined it, playing with one of the…_blond_ locks? He tugged at the hair again, not daring to believe his eyes. Since when was his hair blond? He could've sworn it was orange. Yes, it was orange, wasn't that the reason why people ostracized him? So, blond? He didn't remember dyeing it. Could this be Renji's idea of a joke?

Ichigo was wrenched from his thoughts by voices coming from the hallway. The _angry _voices.

"That baka, I told him not to leave the village! How could he do something so reckless?! I'll kill him!"

"I understand, but you'll have to put those plans on hold, he's still recooperating."

Ichigo felt sorry for whoever they were talking about. That girl sounded like she meant business. Thank god he didn't know her. As he was about to open the door and begin his investigation, it slammed inward toward him, with such force, that though he dodged just in time, he still felt the wind being knocked out of him. When the door burst open, the first thing he saw was a glimpse of pink hair. _Pink? _Oh no, he was right, he _was _abducted by Szayel. Maybe it was one of those freak's experiments which turned him blond, and he was also now considering the possibility of being shrunk.

After recovering from his near death-by-door experience, the orang-_blond_ boy was shocked. He thought Szayel was the only person who dared to have flamboyantly pink hair [with the exception of Yachiru but she was a _special_ case], but the _girl_ standing in front of him most definitely wasn't Szayel or Yachiru. Whilst he took his time to process this information, he noticed neither the steam coming out of her ears, the hellish fire in her eyes or the fist she was making at him, nor did he notice the conversation that was taking place.

"Naruto, you idiot, how could-"

"Sakura, calm down you'll kill him, you almost smashed him with the door!"

"Well, since he seems to want to die so much, I might as well- " Ichigo was only brought back to reality when she grabbed his collar, and the pink of her hair began to pale in comparison to the red of her face. Yeah, she was angry. Even more confused than before, Ichigo blinked. His brain could come up with no other plan of action.

"Stop blinking like an idiot, well, explain yourself!!"

This time, he pulled himself out of her grip and yelled for everyone in a fifty mile radius to hear, "What the hell, who are you?!"

Then he realized, his voice sounded different. What on earth really was going on? Why did this angry girl whom he did not know demand explanations from him. Explanations about what exactly? Did he really forget some important events? Did he know these people, who exactly were they? He couldn't sense any reiatsu from them, and also, he couldn't even sense his own.

The girl was talking again, she didn't seem to realize his confusion, or hear his question.

"Why Naruto, why the hell? You are so stubborn, are you even listening to me?!" she screamed, but this time a tinge of sorrow lined the anger.

_Naruto?_ She had been referring to a Naruto ever since she walked into the room, but only now did he realize that she was addressing him as Naruto. He wasn't sure what to do, so he decided to play along.

She started again, "I was _worried _you idiot!"

"I'm . . . sorry?" he replied.

"What did you say?"

"I'm sorry?"

"What about, 'Sakura-chan, I swore I would bring him back, and I'll do that no matter what, cuz, if I can't save one friend, how I can I ever hope to become Hokage'? I had an entire counter argument planned for that line!"

Ichigo was even more confused than before, and he hadn't thought that possible.

She continued, "Now that I think about it, you've been acting weird. Are you okay?"

"Whaddya mean?" he said, wondering how this Naruto person was supposed to sound.

"Well, how do I put it? Something about you seems…akward. And you haven't given me those big apologetic, yet determined eyes yet, and you're scowling, since when do you scowl? Are you sure you're all right?"

Wow, her disposition had totally changed, she was so kind now, though he had sensed some concern from her from the very beginning. She kind of reminded him of Rukia.

"Actually, my shoulder kinda hurts…um…Sakura-chan?"

WHAM! He got one slap across his face. "It serves you right, you're always rushing into things, baka!" Okay, she reminded him of Rukia, A LOT.

"I'll leave you two to talk for a while. Sakura, as soon as he's better, bring him to Tsunade-sama's office."

"Hai, Shizune-sempai!"

The Sakura girl turned toward him again. He wasn't sure what to be prepared for, the evil side or the kind side. Even more disconcerting was the fact that he still had no idea what was going on. Where was everyone, what was happeni ng? so far, all he deduced was that he was blond, mistaken for someone called Naruto, and was in a totally unfamiliar surrounding, with none of his comrades in sight. There were two explanations, he was dreaming, or something really freaky had happened, he opted for the latter, because it was easier to see this being real than being a dream he would have, especially given his life. Now, as to what that freaky phenomena was and what caused it, he had no clue. He figured it was safe to assume that he and this Naruto person had switched bodies, but from that point onward, he was stumped.

"Naruto, are you sure you're okay, you keep staring off into space."

Ichigo continued to stare, Sakura waved a hand in front of him. Oh, yeah, _he_ was Naruto. He composed himself and prepared to answer the question. He wasn't going to give himself away until he had a better grasp of the situation. For all he knew, these people could be enemies, dangerous enemies, and he felt as though he was too disoriented to fight himself out of any tough situations at that moment. The injuries coupled with the tiredness, confusion and transition into a new body did not leave him in a very good state.

"I'm fine Sakura-chan," he said.

"So, what happened?" she asked, her voice laced with a strange sadness and longing. She still showed her disapproval of whatever it was he did, but it was mixed with curiosity.

As Ichigo had no idea how to answer this question, he opted for something semi-truthful.

"I … can't remember," he stately dully. It was convincing, for, to him, he was being truthful. He could remember nothing, nothing at all. The last thing he knew was fighting Ulqiourra in Las Noches. He remembered being taken over by his hollow but after that, he had no recollection of the events which played out.

"Oh, well, I want you to know that I understand how you feel, but you shouldn't charge off into situations like that Naruto, you could've died!" and she added so that he couldn't hear, "I don't want to lose you too."

Ichigo just stared, listening to the words of the pink haired girl. Her voice was so solemn. He wondered what it was she could've been talking about. "You do realize that you disobeyed the Hokage's direct orders and single handedly went into the middle of a war which Konoha has nothing to do with in order to bring back one extremely powerful rogue ninja against his will?! I know that you've trained and you're a lot stronger, but Naruto, even _you_ couldn't pull that one off, and I thought even you wouldn't be stupid enough to think you could, baka!" Ichigo heard it, throughout her speech he could sense her regret, her conflicting emotions, the battle between logic and instinct. Whatever it was he did that was deemed so reckless, that she said he shouldn't have done, she really wanted to do it, despite knowing of the dangers. Before he could stop himself, he said, "But you wanted to do the same!"

He noted that his voice sounded rather defensive. At first he thought she was going to dismiss the question, but after a short pause she cried out, "You never considered taking me along, you didn't say what you were planning to do, and when you left, Tsunade-sama practically had me on lock down, they didn't even let me join the retrieval squad!"

"So, you would've come?" Ichigo asked innocently, a little surprised that his deduction was dead on. Wham! Her fist collided with his face, a red bruise now adorned it as proof. "How dare you! Of course I would have! I want to bring Sasuke back just as much as you do! And though it makes more sense to follow orders and not act rashly, had I known you were going, I'd have followed in a heartbeat! This was a chance of a lifetime. But when I saw you calmly heed Tsunade-sama's words, I thought if Naruto could be so mature about this, so can I. Tsunade-sama has her reasons, and we should listen. But _then_ you went and did something like _this_ and ran off on your own! Do you see why I'm angry now!"

She stopped. Ichigo was amazed at how long she could go for without pausing for breath. He apologized for his previous statement, and he truly meant it. He could see that this girl was really confused and troubled with issues in her life. He felt as though he could relate to her. Yes, fighting for the sake of your friends, risking life and name, it didn't matter if you were a ninja or a shinigami … wait a minute, did she say _ninja_?

He was wrenched from his thoughts of shuriken and black outfits and Soi-Fon by Sakura.

"You always leave me behind. You take the world on your shoulders and I have to watch, never being able to help! I've gotten stronger too! I know you do it to protect me, but I don't need you to, I am an equal member of squad seven, I've contributed just as much as you and Sasuke, why won't you take me seriously!"

"Sakura, we do take you seriously."

Ichigo looked around to see who had spoken. A man entered from the window. His face was covered in a mask, he had untidy white hair and he was holding a book. "Yo, how are you feelin?"

"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura acknowledged.

He smiled at her. "Sakura, I'm sure Naruto sees you as one of the most important ninja in the village, much less in team seven, and so, he didn't want the village to lose you."

Wow, this guy was a smooth talker, thought Ichigo.

"But-"

"No buts, be thankful he didn't drag you along in his stupidity," he tapped Narut… Ichigo… with the book and continued, "I'd hate to be there when he has to face the Hokage for what he did." Kakashi finished with a smile, Sakura smiled a little too. He walked toward the door, as he was about to leave, he turned toward Ichigo and said, "Naruto, you have to be patient, we'll get Sasuke back with a proper plan." And he left.

Sakura gestured toward the bruise on Naruto's face, "I'm sorry," she said "you want me to heal that?"

Ichigo leaned forward, curious to see how she'd heal it, was she like Orihime? He was intrigued as he saw the bluish energy surround her hand… it gave off an aura kind of like reiatsu, but different, and then the bruise was gone. Ichigo couldn't believe it, further more, he couldn't understand why he couldn't believe it, he saw stuff like this everyday. He guessed that you only believe things exactly as they are in front of you, so the slight differences in the techniques were what had him in a state of awe. You didn't have to be a shinigami, quincy or a human with abnormally high levels of reiatsu to do things like this, you could be a _ninja!_

He still hadn't wrapped his mind fully around the concept of ninjas. Did he hear right. So they weren't shinigami or hollow, they belonged to an entirely different faction. How did they fit into the whole equation of his life. Was it there just to complicate things further. He had enough on his plate to deal with without having to watch out for people hurtling jutsus at him. However, while he thought this whole thing was just some new method God thought up to torture him, he couldn't help but be curious. He wondered how the ninja world operated, was it like Nabari, with the underworld secretly pulling the strings on the surface from the shadows. He couldn't believe he was becoming so caught up in this. Then he started to wonder, did Aizen employ the services of ninjas?! Did Aizen even know about the ninja world? He wouldn't doubt if Aizen were a ninja, after all, Aizen was all about pulling the strings from the shadows and catching people off guard. But something about this girl told him that they were not against him and his comrades in anyway, that they were good people. It was just a vibe he couldn't shake off, strawberry's intuition.

"Naruto, are you listening, I said we have to go se Tsunade-sama now."

"…" _eh, what did she say?_

**Hmm, I wonder what punishment the great hokage-sama has for the strawberry who left the village without permission and may have started the next great ninja war?? And what's going on with naruto? *grins evilly* what does my mind have in store? **


	2. Uninvited Guests

**I forgot to put a disclaimer last chapter, so, I do not own bleach or any of it's charaters, no matter how often I ask for Shirosaki for Christmas! And that goes for this entire story, so I won't have to repeat myself. Also, for this chapter, I do not own 'suite life of zack and cody' or any of its characters [don't be scared, I didn't mention them much]. Also, last chapter, I forgot to mention that I'm dedicating SOS to my friend Saki Hamajima x. Well, enjoy!**

UNINVITED GUESTS

Sakura grabbed Ichigo by the spiky strands of his hair and dragged him from his hospital room.

"You heard me, you have to go to the Hokage's office now, you did commit a major offence."

"Eh?" was the only syllable Ichigo could form with his mind in the state that it was. The raindrops pitter-pattered on the windows that he and Sakura walked past, whilst he tried to make sense of her words. Interrupting his thoughts, she continued, "After Tsunade-sama explicitly told you not to leave the village, you went and did it anyway. You disobeyed a direct order! She'll be livid, so try not to anger her more… I'll have to put up with her later."

From that, the only thing Ichigo really surmised was that this "Hokage" person, whom she spoke of with such fear, respect and reverence, was a woman. He also assumed that she was the leader or commander. He was totally expecting some old guy, like Yamamoto sou-taicho. He wondered what type of person she was, how old, how strict, what her personality was like. From all the captains he had met in Soul Society, he had gathered that not all Captains acted based on the same ideals, and some were just plain psychopaths… actually, most… and a few perverts too… and a pompous bastard or two… with some seemingly normal ones in between. The point was, he wanted to find out what the leader of the ninjas was like. Was she strict, prim and proper, like Byakuya and Yamamoto-san, or was she easy going like Ukitake or a raving lunatic like Mayuri or Kenpachi?

They halted in front of a door. Ichigo was prepared, all his questions were about to be answered … well most of them anyway. The door swung inward. Ichigo was not usually a nervous person. He just took life as it hit him, confidently. But this time, he couldn't help but be a little anxious. After all that had happened in less than an hour, more unknown variables were about to be thrown into the implicit function that was his life. Blond locks and a sake bottle, the first thing he saw, then he noticed what would have been the first things Kon saw were he here. _She _was the Hokage. The lady who was currently on her second bottle of sake since Ichigo entered the room. For more reasons than one, Ichigo was strangely reminded of Matsumoto. Though the towering pile of undone paperwork on the desk supported this observation, the small completed pile that was almost nonexistent between the sake bottles, lottery tickets and remaining stacks of paperwork, however, presented the case that she was more efficient than Matsumoto, well, that wasn't saying much, as the sake bottle on the desk was probably more efficient than Matsumoto, and the pig resting in the arms of the black haired girl was _definitely _more efficient than Matsumoto.

"Naruto," she spoke, her voice grave, "What you did is a serious crime! Leaving the village against orders, you do know that those are grounds to classify you as a rogue ninja and throw you into a jail cell?"

Ichigo nodded, to cover up the fact that he was trembling under the terrifying gaze of the infuriated blond.

"So, are you prepared to face the consequences?" she asked, in all seriousness.

_What the hell, I'm going to jail for something this idiot did!_ Ichigo thought.

"Tsunade-sama," Sakura interjected, "You can't possibly be serious!"

"But, even he admits that he was wrong."

"We all know Naruto is wrong, and an idiot-"

"Hey, that's uncalled for!"

SLAP!

"As I was saying, Naruto's an idiot, but that doesn't mean he should be jailed. We all know he had no intention of abandoning much less harming the village, after all, 'to be Hokage, that is his dream!'" she said, in a kind of high pitched squeaky voice. Everyone in the room except for Ichigo started laughing. Tsunade actually spit sake on Shizune. This was the first time Sakura had seen Tsunade waste sake.

"What was I sayin? Oh yeah, Naruto, he was just-"

"I know what you're trying to say Sakura."

"So…?"

"I wasn't going to jail him from the beginning, that was just a warning."

"Oh."

"Naruto, I understand your reasons, but you have to be more careful, you've committed a serious offense, and I can't always let you off."

"Well, thanks for letting me off this time, ojousan,"

"What, you're not getting away punishment free you know!"

Ichigo's jaw dropped.

"And how come you didn't call me baa-chan, not that I'm complaining."

"Um… cuz I'm still kind of off because of the injuries. I think it's blunt trauma."

"Sure… anyways, your punishiment, you are not allowed to be left alone at all!"

"What?!"

"You will continuously be escorted, at no point in time would you be without supervision."

Inner Sakura was shaking with laughter, but she didn't let her glee show through. She maintained her composure all the way through… until she heard the end of the sentence.

"So Sakura will have to keep an eye on you,"

"Eh?!" Sakura's jaw dropped this time!

"That's an official mission." Tsunade stated.

_An official mission?!_ Tsunade-sama was too cruel. Did she enjoy torturing her student?

"Hai, Tsnade-sama." Ichigo opened his mouth to protest, but Sakura dragged him out of the room before he could. "So, I suppose you're off to Ichiraku's now? Geez, I have to follow you. Why are you such a problem Naruto!"

"…"

"Well, since this is all your fault, you're treating me to ramen."

"What?!" Ichigo didn't even know how ramen came into the conversation. He had had ramen yesterday. Also, how would he treat her, he didn't know where this Naruto guy kept his money, or how much money he had. He fished into his pockets and finally found a froggy-shaped wallet. He looked at the contents, wondering if it would be enough. Before he could even check how much money he had, he was dragged into a shop.

"Naruto, this is the most unenthusiastic you've ever been when it came to ramen, normally you'd have reached here in the blink of an eye."

"Huh."

"Hello Naruto-kun," Ayame, the waitress said, "It's been a while, I heard what happened, so what's your punishment?"

Before Ichigo could answer, a man, who he could only assume was Ichiraku, walked forward, "Hey Naruto, you're okay. One bowl of miso pork ramen on me, you'll have to pay for the others though."

_Others? How much did this guy eat?_

"Sakura-chan, what're you having?"

"The same, two bowls, it's on Naruto!"

The man left and returned later with their orders.

"Itadakimasu!" came Sakura's voice, and before Ichigo even separated his chopsticks, she was done with one bowl.

After the meal, Ichiraku asked, confusedly, and worriedly, "Naruto, was something wrong with the ramen?"

"No, it was fine, why do you ask?"

"Because you've only had one bowl!"

"Yeah, I'm full."

"With one bowl?"

"Naruto, are you on some sort of diet?" Sakura inquired, poking him in the gut.

He jumped away from her and said, "No, I really am full!"

"Whatever," she said, raising her eyebrows, "Let's go. Good night!"

"Good night, come again soon!"

Ichigo followed after her, he supposed he really had to stay with her twenty-four seven.

"Naruto," she said, as they stopped in front of a door, "Tsunade-sama said that you have to be under surveillance at all times, so that means one of us is going to have to stay with the other."

"Yeah," he stated dryly, in a 'that's obvious' kind of way.

She continued, "And I am NOT staying in that pigsty you call a room!"

_Wait a minute,_ she thought,_ what if he comes over and makes a mess of my place, I'd really better stay here._

"So that's why you have to tidy up!" she added.

"O…kay?" Ichigo said.

He opened the door. He had thought that Sakura was exaggerating about the mess, but what he saw when the door swung open nearly gave him a heart attack. Empty cup ramen packages strewn on the floor, half drunk cartons of milk open on the table, snack packages littered the room, dirty wares filled the sink and some sticky stuff was on the floor. And that was just the kitchen area. The bedroom was a mess too. The bed sheet was rolled up and hanging off the bed, a wet towel lay on it, clothes were scattered about the room. If this room looked as if a hurricane had passed through, that would have been a major improvement.

"Ugh!" was all Ichigo could say to express what he felt. If Yuzu were here, she would have scolded whoever's room it was, fainted, and scolded them again after regaining consciousness.

Sakura did not attempt to hide her distaste.

"Naruto, once more, I find myself asking, WHY?!" she said, as she held him by his shirt and rattled him.

"I'm sorry Sakura-chan, I'll get to cleaning right away," he said and sped off to do the dishes. Was Naruto always this obedient? Well, whatever the change, she was enjoying it! She scrutinized the room and deemed the couch safe enough to sit for the while. In less time than Sakura thought possible, Ichigo was lying sprawled out on the floor in front of her panting, and the room was spotless. It was cleaner than even where Tsunade kept her medical instruments. Whoa! She had never seen anyone clean like that, it was superhuman. _Well, if Naruto doesn't become Hokage, he could always fall back on house keeping,_ she thought.

Ichigo sighed. Finally the house was habitable.

"So," Sakura started, "Naruto, this is an official mission, so don't get any ideas, and us having ramen together was NOT a date!"

_WHY was she telling him this?_ "Obviously," he rolled his eyes.

"And no peeping at me in the bathroom!"

He simply raised his eyebrows. "Someone sure thinks a lot of herself!"

Sakura used all her self restraint to stop herself from punching his lights out.

"Well, I'm going to take a bath," Ichigo stated matter of factly, as if the previous conversation had not taken place.

He dug through Naruto's chest of drawers, wow, he had a lot of orange, that was gonna clash horribly with his hai- wait, no, he was blond now. He finally found a pale green jersey with a swirly symbol on it, and a pair of dark green shorts. He decided that it would do. At first he was wondering if it would fit him, but then he remembered, it was Naruto's clothes, of course it would fit Naruto's body.

When he entered the bathroom, the first thing he did was look in the mirror, the second was think, 'why does he have a full length mirror?'. It was the first time he was seeing his new body. It was shorter than he was accustomed to, he had been reduced from 174cm, to 166cm, his chocolate brown eyes were now as blue as Grimmjow's and his orange mop was blond. It was quite a change. He didn't feel as if he were looking in the mirror at all. It was weird. He wondered what was happening with his body at this very moment, was Naruto in it?

*****

Naruto awoke, searing pain on every inch of his bod- oh, no, the pain was slowly ebbing away, he opened his eyes to see an orange glow, and an orange angel.

"Actually, orange princess would be more accurate Kurosaki-kun, it's me, Orihime," she said, flushing scarlet at the phrase Naruto had seemingly spoken aloud.

"Are you okay Kurosaki-kun?"

There was no answer.

"Kurosaki-kun?"

Again, no answer. Naruto wondered why the one called Kurosaki wasn't answering.

"Ishida-kun, something's wrong with him!"

Naruto blinked, trying to follow what was happening. He took in the strange surroundings of a barren desert, with infrastructural debris strewn over the white sands. He guessed he wasn't in the land of rain anymore. And who were these people. They seemed friendly enough, after all, they healed him. Goddammit, why wouldn't this Kurosaki person just answer, it was annoying. Suddenly, a blue haired boy grabbed Naruto by the black shihakusho he was wearing, "Kurosaki, answer!"

Wait, they thought he was Kurosaki, where on earth would they get an idea like that? "No, I'm -" but he was cut off, "Thank god you're okay, why weren't you answering before, Kurosaki-kun?" said the orange haired girl, with big pleading eyes, as she clung to him. What a strange hair colour.

"Inoue, get away from him!" came the shout of the blue haired boy.

She looked at him perplexed, then gasped and sprang about a mile away from Naruto, staring at him horrified.

*****

Ichigo had finished his bath, he sat on the couch, staring out the window, as the rain lashed against it. It has been raining all day. Sakura's voice interrupted the steady rhythm of the rain drops pounding the earth, "I call dibs on the bed!"

"What?!" Ighigo mentally slapped himself, he was such an idiot, this wasn't Rukia, but by force of habit, he automatically thought she would be sleeping in the closet, stupid him. Well he couldn't stop her. Courtesy dictates even Kurosaki Ichigo must be a gentleman in a situation like this. Plus, it was his, well Naruto's, fault that they were in this situation and truthfully, he couldn't care less. He just nodded, and continued to stare out the window, wondering what kind of turmoil these events had thrown his inner world into, it was probably flooded by now, Zangetsu and his hollow were probably spewing profanities at him like there was no tomorrow and collaborating on ways to make his life even more hellish than it already was.

*****

"Hey, Zangetsu, this is not happening right? I really don't remember asking king for a pet!"

Ichigo's hollow, or Shirosaki, as he was dubbed by Zangetsu, a name which Ichigo later adopted for him, was not staring at the gate like bars which seemed to expand forever on either side which suddenly sprung up in his inner world, no, he was staring at what was _behind _those bars. The thing that was baring its fangs and snarling at them. That one.

"Well, I have no idea, but it seems as though something severe is going on on the outside that we are not aware of."

The Kyuubi managed to let a tendril of chakra seep through the seal, shooting toward Shirosaki. This caused Shirosaki to back away, slipping in a puddle and nearly falling flat on his face.

"Why doesn't he stop this goddamn rain!"

Zangetsu ignored him and continued, "It's aura sure is foul, I wonder what it is."

"Ya hear that doggy, yer aura's foul! Now get lost. Ha!"

"Yes, I'd say it's on par with yours, Shirosaki," Zangetsu chuckled.

"Hey!" Shirosaki said in a mock offended voice but continued in all seriousness, "I am not sharing my space someone else, much less a vile _dog!_" he spat with as mush venom as he could muster.

"Yes, I agree, three is a crowd, but we should wait for Ichigo's input."

"Aw, we can take care of this without him, come on, let me take him out."

"Insolent human, I dare you to try, do you know who you are speaking to!" the Kyuubi thundered.

"Dunno, don't care."

Shirosaki's nonchalant reply incensed the fox further. "Have respect, I shall rip any human who dares to look down on me to shreds!"

"That's good for you and all, but that doesn't concern me… cuz _I'm not human._"

"What do you mean not human, you look human, except you're deathly white!"

"Didn't anyone ever teach ya, looks can be, no, _are_, deceiving."

"Never mind, human or not, I shall show no mercy… huh? Where did you come from." The Kyuubi stared at a spot to the left of Shirosaki.

*****

Ichigo stared out of the window, still. Sakura was worried. Naruto was never this _quiet_ or this still for a matter of fact,

"Um, Naruto, it seems like you really don't want to talk about it, but when you're ready, I'm here to listen."

Ichigo raised his eyebrows.

"About what happened in the land of rain. That's what has you so preoccupied right?"

Ichigo was about to say 'sure', but the word never left his mouth. Sakura saw Naruto's body hit the floor and rushed toward him. Why did he faint? Nothing she did was reviving him.

*****

Ichigo felt a strange pressure acting on him from all sides, he felt as though he was being pulled inward. The next thing he knew, he was standing at the side of Shirosaki, awestruck at the sight that met his eyes. Some sort of conference seemed to be taking place between Shirosaki, Zangetsu and a big orange _thing_.

"Who's that?" _OMG, the thing spoke!_ Ichigo stared at it.

"King, yer finally here, now get rid of the intruder! Now!"

"…"

"_King!"_

"Oh, right, sorry, it's just that this day just keeps getting weirder and weirder. Hey, wait a minute, you recognized me?" he said confusedly.

"Well, duh, if the orange hair wasn't a dead give away, I'd recognize that reiatsu anywhere, idiot."

"Orange hair? But I'm blond."

"King, just when I thought you couldn't get any stupider, you go and prove me wrong," Shirosaki stated, grabbing one of the wayward strands of Ichigo's hair and pulling it down in front of his eyes, "Look, we call that colour orange."

"Aah! It turned back," Ichigo screamed pulling on strands of his once again orange locks.

"Ichigo… um… are you okay?" Zangetsu inquired, shooting a questioning look at Ichigo.

"Yeah, it's just –"

"Don't ignore me you lowlife! I am the kyuubi!" came an angry snarl from an impatient fox.

"Eh, sorry, never heard of you, so anyways, I was saying, I turned blond."

"Ichigo, you may be acting like one right now, but you're not blond!"

"I know I'm not blond right now, but I was, just a moment ago. A blond ninja, with blue eyes."

"Ichigo, you always were a raving lunatic, but this is just over the edge!"

"No, I'm serious and my name was - "

"Naruto, I'll kill you for this, how dare you condemn me to this sideways world with these trash!"

"Uh, are you Ulquiorra's mentor, you say trash just like him… Hey wait a minute, who are you, why are you in my inner world and do you know Naruto?"

"King, who's Naruto?"

"That's what I was telling you, I'm was a blond haired, blue eyed ninja named Naruto."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"I'm serious, somehow I ended up in his body!"

"Ichigo, you're saying that your soul has been transferred to a next body?" Zangetsu asked calmly.

"Yeah, I'm guessing that's why we're all here, but as it's still my soul, in here, I look like Ichigo."

"But what does that have to do with the hideous doggy, if we were getting a doggy, you could have at least get a cute one like Komamura-taicho!"

Shirosaki knew how to enrage the Kyuubi beyond his usual limits. He flared his chakra out at full power in all directions, raising all nine tails as he did so, and letting out an earsplitting roar. It was quite an intimidating sight.

"Whoa, doogy's got some power!"

"I'm guessing this being belonged to Naruto-kun, and when you transferred bodies, somehow the dimensional breakdown allowed him to enter your inner world." Zangetsu concluded wisely.

"Oh," Ichigo stated.

"Well, I don't care, but I am not sharing my living space with him, old man Zangetsu feels the same, right?"

"Well, it would be a slight bother, but I see no other choice, we'll have to live with it until Ichigo and this Naruto sorts things out."

"Yeah, I think Zangetsu's right," Ichigo concluded.

"Fine King, whatever, you just hate me don't you?" Shirosaki turned toward the kyuubi, "And you, I'm making it perfectly clear that you are most definitely not welcome here!"

The Kyuubi's temper was rising with every word out of Shirosaki's mouth, but rather than making meaningless threats, he decided to seize the opportunity and _then _he would kill them.

"Hey, I don't want to stay here either, so why not work together. If you want me to leave, all you have to do is pull that seal right there." The Kyuubi pointed to the seal with one of his tails, "Just pull it right off the gate, and I'll be on my way," he said, with a toothy grin.

Shirosaki was at the seal already when Ichigo put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't. He's probably sealed for a reason."

"I agree," Zangetsu added.

"We don't know why he's sealed, and we shouldn't get involved in another's affair, when Naruto gets back his body, he'll deal with his problem."

Shirosaki backed away. The Kyuubi snarled. Shirosaki turned to Ichigo, "Well, let's forget him, wanna fight, king?"

Ichigo just stared incredulously at Shirosaki, "uh, no, we kinda have a crisis!"

"Let me out, I'm not staying with you lunatics!" the kyuubi screamed as Shirosaki pulled out his white Zangetsu and held it against Ichigo's neck.

"C'mon, just one little fight, it won't kill ya!"

"I think it will," Ichigo said, pushing the sword away and walking toward Zangetsu.

"So, I guess I'll be going now, was this all you needed me for?"

"Ask Shirosaki, he's the one who pulled you in and he was so agitated, he didn't even notice that he did it," Zangetsu said with a chuckle.

"What, I didn't call him, what you talking about old man?"

They ignored him. "Hey, how come I can feel my reiatsu?" Shirosaki rolled his eyes.

"Cuz, this is your innermost conscious, dumbass, your soul. I don't think you'd switch the appearance of that even if you tried or it's aura."

"So… when Naruto's in shinigami form he'll still look like himself?"

"Doubt it," Shirosaki said.

"It's highly unlikely," Zangetsu replied in time with Shirosaki.

"…" Ichigo stared confusedly.

"That's still _your_ soul _vessel_ he's in, like a second body then, he'll look like Naruto when he's in soul form in his inner world with his Zanpakuto though," Shirosaki replied boredly.

"And his reiatsu will be Naruto's, no matter if he's in my body, soul vessel of in his inner world?"

"Yep, isn't yours still Ichigo's?"

"Actually, when I'm in his body I can't sense reiatsu at all, cuz he's not a shinigami… he's a ninja."

Shirosaki's jaw dropped and Zangetsu's eyes opened wide at the last words.

"_Ninja? _A _ninja?!_ Ichigo, are you serious?"

"Uhuh! I told you before, weren't you listening?"

"Dude, this is unreal!"

"Say's the substitute shinigami's hollow?"

"Haha, very funny, it's like if you've fallen into an anime or something… like Nabari!"

"Why's it so hard to believe… Hey, how does a hollow know about Nabari?"

"Karin sometimes forgets the television on at night, and without all the interference form your soul while you're asleep, I get a pretty good idea of what's going on, though it still sucks, cuz I can't take over your peripheries, so I don't get full control of your body, just heightened impulses of your senses." Shirosaki pouted, but even his pout looked sinister.

"Oh, well that makes sens- hey, wait a minute, are you saying you've _tried_ to take control of my body while I was asleep already?!"

"Duh!"

"And you let him!" Ichigo pointed an accusatory finger at Zangetsu.

"No, he didn't did he?" Zangetsu replied.

"Cuz he couldn't!"

"Well, I was kinda engrossed by Nabari, so I didn't notice… I even forgot about the rain."

"Speaking of which king, can ya turn that damn thing _off!_ I'm soaked to the bone!"

"Sorry, I don't know how."

"Well then… as a thanks for all the wisdom I imparted to you, a fight, as a farewell?" Shirosaki made one last attempt as Ichigo turned away.

"I said no Shiro, anyways, I'm leaving, Sayonara!"

"Het wait a minute!" the Kyuubi spoke up.

"Oh, _you're_ still here," Shirosaki hissed, as he turned to look the Kyuubi straight in the eye, with a look that said, 'Go jump off a cliff.'

The Kyuubi continued to address Ichigo, "How dare you not take me into to consideration, and fill me in on the situation!"

"Are ya deaf? King's blond, a ninja and yer master's now a shinigami, in King's body, and even though it sucks, I have to let you stay here till things are sorted out… Sheesh, some of us are kinda slow," Shirosaki added, in mock secrecy to Zangetsu, whilst not so subtly pointing to the Kyuubi.

The Kyuubi growled, sending a rush of air through Ichigo's inner world, nearly unbalancing the shinigami turned ninja.

"Sheesh, you need a breath mint!"

"Shirosaki! Stop it, can you not cause problems while we're in this situation?"

"I'll try king, if you let me see you're blond self."

"Not possible Shiro."

"Oh yes it is, if you let me gain control for a while."

"I'm wearing a sign that says 'dumber than London Tipton', am I?"

"King, you don't need the sign, you've just got that natural look!"

"Shiro!"

"So you'll fight me now?"

"Nope, see ya." With a wave to Zangetsu and Shiro, Ichigo disappeared from the sideways world, leaving the odd trio to themselves, he didn't even want to imagine what would be going on in there over the next few days, he pitied Zangetsu, but thought, 'better him than me!'

*****

Sakura was trying everything to revive 'Naruto', but to no avail. He had just lost consciousness and refused to regain it. Nothing she did was working. She was worried so much. Did she overwork him? He had just come out of the hospital after all. Did he take some substantial damage in the land of rain that had been overlooked. She was just about to carry him to Tsunade's when he stirred a little.

*****

Ichigo woke up, he was lying on the couch and Sakura was staring worriedly at him. She must've thought that he fainted. He got up, and insisted that he was fine, finally managing to convince her that he didn't need Tsunade to give him a check up, that it was just that his exhaustion got the better of him. This was when she ushered him off to bed. Though after hearing what Shirosaki had to say, he was a little skeptical about lowering his defenses at the moment for something like sleep, however, his aching muscles thought otherwise, so, he climbed onto the couch and covered up, though Sakura had now offered him the bed, ready to drift into dreamland. Afterall, tomorrow was another day, and who knew what awaited, he had to be well rested to face the unexpected.

"Good night Naruto."

"Good night, Sakura-chan."

**So, does Ichigo even dream? Lol. Anyways, sorry for making Shiro and Ichi so friendly with each other, but well, I decided that's how I wanted it. Maybe I'll write a shiroichi fic showing how they got so close as a prequel. Well, I hope you enjoyed it. I think next chapter the actual story'll start, that's enough intro, don't you think, I mean, everyone's got their roommates now! Lol!**

**So, review! And I was wondering, does anyone else think Ichigo and Sakura might develop into a nice couple? I was rereading and I found they were written that way. What type of writer would do something like that? Oh, me! Well, review and say if you think they make a nice couple and if you want them to end up together. Cuz then I'll try to make it work, though that'll be complicated… interdimensional relationships don't really work you see… No! I am NOT speaking from experience… maybe… who knows? But if no one wants them together, life will be so much simpler, and Naruto'll get her! Sorry for the long author's note, bye! Don't forget, review!**


	3. Winds Of Change

WINDS OF CHANGE

"Orihime, get away from him!" Ishida yelled, grabbing the orange haired girl by her arm and pulling her toward him. Her eyes opened wide as comprehension dawned on her. Naruto was lost. Why the sudden change?

"What have you done to Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime stammered, pointing at Naruto.

"Who's that? I didn't do anything to anyone… except a couple of ninja from the hidden rain," Naruto replied, confused and shocked. He took a step back from the people and was about to clarify everything, well as much as he could anyway, when Ishida yelled, "What are you?"

Naruto registered the 'what' and scowled. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm going to become the Hokage!" By the end of his self-introduction he was re-energized and had forgotten about the harsh way in which he was addressed.

"Um… you're gonna become _what?_" Orihime questioned.

"Ho-ka-ge," he enunciated, slowly.

"And what is that?"

"Orihime! That's not important. Stop fraternizing with him, he's most likely one of Aizen's people!"

"Oh, yeah, sorry Ishida-kun," she said meekly.

"Who's Aizen?" Naruto was used to being confused, but these people made him feel as though he had fallen into another dimension!

Suddenly, a raven haired girl came flying toward him. Her foot made contact with his face. Painful! She could give Sakura competition! Naruto thought. In his barely conscious state, his eyes followed her hands as she pointed at him and made fists. He was feeling dizzy, but he could still hear her words, if only because of the sheer volume with which she shouted them.

"Who the hell are you, and what did you do to Ichigo?!" why did everyone keep asking him that? And who was this Ichigo. He voiced the first part of his thoughts aloud, "Why's everyone asking that?"

"Because, you're in his body! Wait, you didn't know that?" Rukia need not have asked that question, as it was evident from Naruto's reaction that he did not in fact know that.

"Waaah! Where's my body? That's why the sky seems so much closer!" he yelled grabbing and tugging strands of his hair while running in circles, then he noticed, "My hair! It's _orange_!"

He dropped to his knees in mid air muttering, "What kind of sick genjutsu is this? My blondness, it's gone!"

The group just stared at him as he continued to question the strange events and wonder aloud why the world loved punishing him and throwing his little mind into turmoil on an almost daily basis. This made them pity him, something about the sad puppy dog eyes and the lost, confused look made them believe he really did not know what had happened, either that, or he was an _extremely _good actor; they decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. The thought was unanimous. He finally composed himself and stopped wailing to ask, "Can _anyone_ explain what's happening, _please!"_ They were all taken aback by the cute pleading look that adorned what-was-supposed-to-be-Ichigo's visage.

Rukia was the first to recover and was about to answer when a cero blasted right past her and made it's way straight for Naruto. Thankfully, he dodged just in time.

"um, I think explanations and introductions will have to wait," she said, drawing her Zanpakuto.

"Mai, sode no shirayuki!" she shouted, gracefully twirling her sword, its ribbon tail flowing serenely behind it.

"I'm don't want a fight with you, I'll deal with you lowlifes after I have Kurosaki's head flayed on my Zanpakuto," snarled a blue haired man advancing toward the shinigami with the drawn sword. Grimmjow was back again, after the impact that had knocked both him and Ichigo to the floor. Did he really have to recover _right now_?! But surely he'd figure out that this wasn't Ichigo right? No one was stupid enough not to; Grimmjow of all people should know Ichigo's reiatsu like the back of his hand, heck, everyone knew the carrot-top's signature spiritual pressure that overflowed everwhere, threatening to engulf everything, and this most definitely wasn't it.

Scratch that, apparently Grimmjow _is_ that stupid. "Grind pantera!" he yelled as he blasted Rukia out of the way with a desgarron. Naruto saw the little beams of energy hit the raven haired girl, and he saw her blown of her feet. Orihime ran toward her to tend to her wounds.

"Kurosaki, bring out your mask, _now!_" the bluey growled. Naruto had no idea what he was talking about, but advanced to fight anyway. Thins guy seemed exactly like the arrogant, idiotic type he hated, and no way was he going to sit back and watch this guy attack a couple of girls. He may not know where he was, what was going on, how to tie a shoelace, the square root of pi and many other things, but one thing he knew for sure was that Naruto Uzumaki would not stand for this. He didn't even bother to try to explain to the brute that he was not Kurosaki, the guy wanted a fight so Naruto would teach him a lesson.

"Are you looking down on me Kurosaki, I said take out your mask!" Grimmjow roared, "Or do I have to make you?" he was preparing for another dessgaron.

"Idiot, he's not Ichig- " Rukia began to say, but he didn't let her finish.

"Shut the hell up," he said, aiming the second dessgaron at her.

Naruto ran forward and blocked the attack. He was thrown forward into a pile of rubble. Ishida rushed to his aid.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine," Naruto responded getting to his feet.

"What are you doing, let me handle this!"

"I'm going to finish my fight of course, don't try and stop me!" he shouted defiantly, determination etched in every feature.

He strode forward toward Grimmjow, and proceeded with his hand signs.

"Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" he shouted, looking around expectantly. Nothing happened.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Um, well, that was kinda… weird to say the least," Ishida added, whilst Naruto was looking around frantically calling for his shadow clones. He tried the jutsu several times but to no avail. Grimmjow stood dumfounded for a few moments, but the minute he regained himself, he took advantage of 'Ichigo's' confusion and sonidoed right up to him. He punched him in the stomach.

Naruto flew backward a little, still at a lost as to why his technique didn't work. What was he supposed to do? He dodged Grimmjow's sword as it came swinging mercilessly toward him, all the while Grimmjow was still screaming for him to take out his mask. All Naruto could do was dodge each attack, he noticed that his speed had become somewhat otherworldly during the fight, he reckoned he could probably give the yellow flash of konoha a run for his money. Naruto got used to the shunpo, and was using it superbly, but Grimmjow matched his speed with his sonido. He blocked Naruto against one of the few still standing walls of Las Noches. With no more room to dodge, Naruto was doomed. He searched desperately for any weapon on his person, but there were no kunai, shuriken or any other ninja tools to be found. Just great!

An inch away form death, he made one last frantic attempt. He tried to gather his chakra in his hand, but he couldn't even get in tune with his chakra system, much less concentrate it to any particular point in his body. However, something did happen. A blast of energy from his hand hit Grimmjow square in the face. It was messily done and not very powerful, but coupled with the effect of the arrow that hit the arrancar simultaneously, it was able to disrupt the attack.

It was not, as Naruto had wanted, a rasengan, but it was close enough. Like Ichigo, Naruto's spiritual pressure had vast magnitude. He was able to focus some of this excess reiatsu and make it take physical form. Naruto looked over at Ishida who had intervened in the battle and gave him a nod to convey his thanks. Grimmjow was swearing profusely now and blasting ceros in every direction. A few came hurtling at full speed toward Naruto, but thankfully, in a moment of reflex, he deflected all with his sword.

Wait a minute, sword? Where did that come from, he was certain he did not have that a minute ago. It just sort of materialized into his hand. Naruto had never used a katana this long before, that wasn't his style, but for some reason, it felt as if it _belonged_ in his hand. He couldn't quite explain the feeling, but he knew this sword was his, he gripped it tighter and instinctively thrust it toward Grimmjow as he advanced on Naruto again. Grimmjow vaguely registered the difference in Zanpakuto as he was slashed across the chest. For the first time since the battle started he realized that Kurosaki's reiatsu was absent from the battlefield. He had thought something felt odd before, but it didn't quite click with him. Blood from the pseudo-rasengan attack was dripping into his eyes, obscuring his vision. He wiped it away in order to get a better look at his opponent, though he didn't need to, there was no doubt that the man standing before him now, with this gentle, yet overpowering reiatsu, and this obviously not-Zangetsu zanpakuto was most definitely _not_ Kurosaki Ichigo. That was plain to him. Now.

He stared a little. Did Kurosaki have a twin brother, cuz this kid could be his carbon copy. "Who are you, and where's Kurosaki?!" he roared.

"Like I know!"

"Well, it doesn't make a difference, I'll just kill you first and drag his sorry ass back here to fight!"

He sonidoed toward Naruto, moving pantera with such expertise and speed that it seemed to cut the air. He slashed Ichigo in much the same way as the latter had done to him. "Now we're even, now to continue…" he said, as he attempted to shishkabob Naruto with his sword. Naruto deflected with his newfound blade. It took a lot of strength to hold Grimmjow back. After a few seconds, Naruto retreated a few paces and Grimmjow momentarily lost his balance. Naruto seized the opportunity and shunpoed behind Grimmjow. He attempted to knock the Espada out with the hilt of his sword. He brought it down with all his strength and Grimmjow fell forward, or so Naruto thought. Mid fall, Grimmjow about faced and swung pantera forward. Once again Naruto deflected with his katana. Grimmjow grinned psychopathically, and whilst Naruto's both hands were occupied, he blasted a cero straight into the ninja-turned-shinigami's chest.

At that close range it was a certain hit and if was definitely no small impact. The force of the cero sent Naruto flying. He crashed onto the floor with a resounding thud, unconscious. Blood gushed and he didn't stir a bit. Inoue was about to rush to his aid when Grimmjow turned in her direction, the manic glint in his eyes more pronounced than ever, and shouted, "Don't even think about it woman, he's mine!"

*****

Ouch! That was some hit. Naruto pulled himself out of the darkness that had previously enveloped him when he was hit. He looked around and blinked his eyes. Had his surroundings changed again? Yes, they had. This time he was perched atop a waterfall under the blazing sun. The place was still and serene except for the refreshing breeze that continuously blew. What the hell was going on, why was he being transported from place to place? Suddenly, the wind's strength grew and its roar echoed over the area. The force of the wind seemed to shake the very earth if that were possible. Naruto fought very hard not to be blown away. The gust sent leaves and dust swirling around him, blocking his vision. When it finally cleared and the ferocity settled a bit, standing before Naruto was someone. Someone in a long, flowing, white kimono, with light silver hair. He had amethyst eyes and a handsome face. Everything about him gave of a peaceful, yet intimidating effect. His hair and clothes seemed to ripple in the wind even when nothing else in the surroundings did.

"Hello Naruto," the man spoke in a soft voice. Though quiet, the man's voice held authority and commanded attention. Naruto looked upward at the taller man, transfixed at the astounding and powerful aura he emitted.

"Who are you, and how do you know my name?"

"I know your name for I have always been with you, Naruto," the man replied calmly. Naruto gave one of his signature confused looks.

"I am part of you, part of your soul," he continued. After getting no response from Naruto, he went on, "You can call me Kaze No Shouri. I will lend you my power to win this battle, you can rely on me."

"Wait, the battle is still going on?" Naruto asked quizzically, looking around for signs of his opponent.

"He's not here. Wow, you really do your hair colour justice, blondie. The blue guy's not around, he can't enter your subconscious."

"Wait, you mean all this is taking place in my mind?"

"Uhuh."

"And did you just call me 'blondie'?"

"Yup, this is your soul, so of course you look like you!"

"Duh, I meant I don't like the name, don't call me that!"

"Whatever, as I was saying, I shall lend you my strength. Up till now, you have kept me dormant. I have watched and waited, and finally, during the battle with the moron, um, I mean very worthy opponent, you have called on me. I am at your service."

"Like hell! I didn't ask for anyone's help."

"Quit being stubborn. You know you need help, and anyhow, you did call me."

"Did not!"

"Did too!" the silver haired one said, sticking his tongue out at Naruto.

_Did I think he seemed wise and mature a moment ago? Boy was I wrong!_Naruto thought.

"Why you –" Naruto yelled, running after the man now teasing him and making faces at him. He reached for his sword, but it was no longer there.

"Looking for this?" Kaze No Shouri asked in a sing-song voice, as he threw the katana upward and balanced it by it's tip on his finger when it came back down. Naruto lunged at him, but he continued to evade the boy, keeping the sword out of his reach.

"Give me back my katana!" Naruto yelled.

"Your katana? Don't fool yourself boy, this is mine. As said before, I am lending you my power. You can't even fathom how to use this weapon to its full potential. Ha!"

"Wait a minute, so you're saying I am unconscious, you're inside me and you're offering me power when I'm in a pinch? So déjà vu! Where's the catch, the seal that you want me to release, or do you want to take over my body? Isn't having just the kyuubi bad enough?"

"Idiot, I've told you before, I am not just some parasite that has taken residence in your body, and you are not just some host. We are linked and bonded, one. I am you, and you are me. I am a manifestation of you power and strength, your guide, your conscience, your instinct. You have to trust me."

Naruto wanted to believe him, in fact, from even before his instinct had told him the man meant no harm, but he didn't want to take the chance, what if he made a big mistake?

"Naruto, trust me," he repeated.

Naruto hesitated at first, but then said, "okay, I will."

"Well then, if you are ready, hold out your hand and call my name."

Naruto did as he was told. "Kaze no Shouri."

The katana, as long as his entire body, sleek and slender, iridescent and entrancing, returned to his hand. It was as light as air and felt so at home in his hand. He felt so much more at ease holding it.

"You see, I'll be with you in the fight. Can't you feel it, that sword is not just some inanimate object."

Naruto understood what he was saying. The sword gave off its own warmth and life force. It had a very reassuring aura, that resounded with, and amplified Naruto's.

"Are you saying that the sword is you?"

"Yes. This sword is Kaze no Shouri. It is me and it is you. It is not merely a weapon, but part of your very soul. Are you ready to resume battle?"

"Yes," Naruto replied, his confidence returned to him tenfold.

"Well then, I will be with you throughout the fight, maintain communications with me, and I shall lend you my strength. All you have to do is ask, and one last thing. Remember to trust me."

"I will."

*****

Naruto regained consciousness, Grimmjow was an inch away from him. He pushed himself up and walked confidently toward his opponent. He swung Kaze no Shouri confidently, almost landing his mark by Grimmjow's neck, but Grimmjow parried. Naruto was not deterred. He gripped his Zanpakuto tightly and put his strength and faith into his attack. He succeeded but it had very little effect on the Sexta Espada.

_Naruto, I can see you are putting your trust in me. That was faster than I thought, I know you don't like to rely on others much._

_But I'm not stupid, I still know how to work on a team._

_Well then teammate, do you need help._

_Yes, this guy doesn't look like he'll be taken out by conventional means, so lend me your strength, Kaze no Shouri._

_Okay, I want you to focus everything you've got into slicing the big guy. _

_Sure._

_Put all your determination and strength into it._

_Yeah._

_And put all your faith in me._

_Uhuh._

While Naruto and Kaze no Shouri were planning, Grimmjow wasted no time. He charged toward Naruto, releasing ceros at high speed. However, Naruto was vigilant. Though focused on his conversation with his zanpakuto, he was still extremely aware of his surroundings. Failure to do so would be a rookie mistake which he had made countless times before. One would not become hokage by slacking off after all. He dodged each cero, listening aptly to Kaze no Shouri all the while.

_Are you ready?_

Naruto nodded.

_Well do it, I have faith in you._

"Kaze Tenrai Ketatamashi!" Naruto yelled, as Grimmjow was about to bring his sword down upon him once more.

The winds aroung Naruto picked up, whilst everywhere else became extremely still. Grimmjow was being forced away by the gale force winds swirling around Naruto. Some of the speeding air compressed and shot toward Grimmjow. The force sent him flying three miles away. The attack sliced away at his skin effortlessly. The pressured air made a clean cut line straight across his abdomen from which blood spouted like a fountain.

Ishida and Rukia overcame their awe and grabbed Orihime and screamed to everyone to run.

Naruto looked on at Grimmjow, as though waiting for him to get back up. A set, determined looked in his eyes; the picture of seriousmess. The power which he radiated was fearsome.

_That was a bit better than I thought it would be Naruto._

"Chad, get him, we have to leave," Ishida shouted, as Naruto seemed rooted to the spot. Chad grabbed the shinigami with one arm and dragged him after the others.

Once they were safely hidden in a cave on the outskirts of Las Noches, Rukia started.

"You idiot! Be more careful. Do you know who you were fighting with? You can't be so careless with other people's bodies!" she screamed, holding Naruto by the front of his shihakusho and rattling him around. He was starting to think he should have stayed with the psychopathic killer.

"I was only saving us!" he protested.

"Hmm. You guys sure he's not Kurosaki. If it wasn't for the way off reiatsu and the zanpakuto, I don't think I'd be able to tell the difference," Ishida commented, watching the scene unfold between the two shinigami before him. Naruto was still being admonished for his carelessness, while his head was becoming friendly with the wall of the cave. Repeatedly. Again and again. One more time. A chip of the wall broke off. Ouch that's gotta hurt. Tears were running down his face, did something crack?

"Umm, Kuchiki-san, I think that's enough," Ishida decided to put a stop to the abuse.

Naruto rubbed his head.

"So, who are you?" he questioned.

"Naruto Uzumaki, didn't I already say so."

"I'm Uuryu. Ishida Uuryu." Ishida held out his hand. Naruto shook it.

"Rukia Kuchiki."

"Inoue Orihime."

"Sado Yasutora."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet all of you. So, do any of you know how I ended up in your friend's body?"

Naruto had made two mistakes, he had looked at Ishida when he said this and he had used the word 'friend'.

Ishida started, "I would just like to make it clear, Kurosaki and I are _not_ friends, I am just here to ensure Inoue-san's safety! I am a Quincy and he is a shinigami, we are NOT friends!" he then treated Naruto to a half an hour long lecture on the history of the Quincy and the shinigami, until Rukia cut him short. Naruto made a mental note not to make that mistake again.

"As nice as introductions are, I think it would be wise to come up with our plan of action before the Espada find us. I see you can fight, so that's great. However, without Ichigo around, we've got more than one major crises on our hands. We've got to go back and consult the others. Retreat is the best option. And we've got Inoue, that's what we came for right? So… how do we go back?"

"Well, Urahara-san gave us instructions, it's in Ichigo's pocket."

Everyone looked at Naruto. When he realized why, he began to fish around in his pocket. He pulled out the instructions and offered it to Ishida, who refused it. He had seen enough of Urahara's 'instructions' in his time, and no way was he about to follow it, however, that didn't mean he wasn't up for a good laugh. "It has to be done by a shinigami, so you do it." Everyone waited with bated breaths.

Naruto looked at the paper and his face fell. "No way, I am not doing that. Ever."

"You have to, it's the only way we can get out of this mess and solve your problem. Are you going to let us all die because of your stupid pride." Naruto sighed, it made sense, if doing this could help the situation, he'd do it. He took a deep breath and prepared to begin. Ishida prepared too, by pulling out his cell phone and getting ready to hit record.

Naruto took a deep breath, then he began dancing and singing the Macarena. Ishida got every bit on tape, though some of it couldn't be heard over his laughing. Naruto continued to follow the instructions on the paper. After the Macarena, he began to say, "I'm a doofus, look at me, I Ichigo Kurosaki luurves Barbie. I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world…" while hopping up and down on one foot, patting his head and rubbing his tummy. After the Barbie song, he had to say, "go go gadget portal opener" clap three times, then say "open sesame" and finsh of with a "tada!" and spirit fingers.

He finished and waited, relieved it was over. Nothing happened, he waited some more. Still nothing. He reread the instructions to make sure he didn't leave anything out. That was when he saw it, at the bottom at the last bit of instructions, 'turn the page and go on'. He did so. The note read:

_Haha! Gotcha! I hope_

_Someone got that on tape!_

_Now to get back to the real world,_

_Look in your pocket and take out the little remote._

Naruto did as the paper said, now thoroughly infuriated. Damn whoever just made him make a fool of himself. He was going to get back to where ever they were going just so he could flay that bastard within an inch of his life for what he put him through. He pulled out the remote and read on:

_Now, press the big red button that says home._

_-Urahara Kisuke_

Naruto pressed the button. The surroundings warped and a giant rip appeared in space. Ishida motioned for him to step through. One by one they entered and the rip sealed. Then Ishida did his special Quincy, silver surfer kinda technique and sped off on his pathway of spirit particles with Orihime in tow.

If anyone thought Ichigo was bad at this, it was nothing compared to Naruto, the newbie to the whole reiatsu and reishi and interdimensional travel and whatnot. However, with the help of Rukia and Chad, he eventually made it out.

They stepped out into a barren landscape with sand and rocks as far as the eye could see. Suddenly, steps appeared from out of nowhere, and down came a man in green and white striped clothing. "My, my, back so soon, and what have we here?" He said, stopping to look at Naruto. His eyes lit up as though someone had bought him a new laboratory. "What an interesting specimen you brought back, is it a gift for me?" Naruto took a step backwards from the man. He was officially creeped out. Suddenly, a girl with purple hair came down the stairs calling, "Kisuke!"

"So you're Urahara Kisuke." Naruto's eyes were set aglow, with a fire burning brighter than those of hell itself.

"Uhoh…"


	4. The Reason Is You

**Um, well, I would like to point out that after Sasuke killed itachi, and then found out the truth, this story does not follow the actual Naruto timeline.**

THE REASON IS YOU

Sasuke entered his hideout, the black mop atop his head dripping water. Though his expression was unreadable as ever, his companions could immediately tell that something was wrong. Terribly wrong. He looked kind of _dazed_, as though he was trying to make sense of something, and that two add two just kept giving him five, no matter how he looked at it.

"Sasuke, is everything all right?" Karin questioned with concern.

"Hn," came his oh-so-lengthy and in depth reply.

"Sasuke, what happened," Suigetsu persisted.

Sasuke lowered himself to the floor, leaning his back against the wall and closing his eyes. He sighed softly and then said one word.

"Naruto."

*****

Naruto sneezed.

"Oh, here's a tissue," Urahara said politely, handing Naruto a tissue. Naruto took it from him, and they both resumed their game of catch, with Naruto screaming, "Urahara, when I get my hands on you you'll be sooo sorry, you old man!"

*****

Ichigo rolled over on the couch, tried to pull his blanket over him some more, and in the process, ended up hitting the floor with a loud thud. Sakura woke with a start, a kunai already in her hand as she surveyed the room alertly looking for the source of the noise. She relaxed when she noticed the idiot thrashing about the floor. Wiping the sleep out of her eyes, she tapped him on the head.

"Oi, baka, get up!" she yelled, kicking him. She stopped when she remembered he was injured, but it had already done the trick.

"Dammit Rukia! That hurt."

Sakura was taken aback at the outburst, who was Rukia? "What did you call me, Naruto?"

Ichigo registered the name, as he blinked, looking up at the pink haired girl making a fist at him. Yep, that brought the events of the previous day flooding back to him. He was still in the twisted supernatural hell that was his life, that got weirder by the day. All thoughts of ninjas and ramen clicked in place just in time for him to dodge the blow headed his way.

"I said that hurt, _Sakura_," he said, looking up at her nervously.

Sakura was certain that he had said Rukia, but that didn't make any sense, they didn't know a Rukia. But then, why was Naruto acting so strange, he was definitely looking nervous. Then she thought she had the answer. Could it be... did Naruto have a secret girlfriend? Ha, she laughed the idea away, even in her mind it sounded ludicrous.

"Well, I guess I just... heard wrong."

"Yeah, I guess so," Ichigo replied, getting to his feet and trying to act casual, "So, what did you hear?"

"I... it's nothing, never mind. So, you going to do any training today, I suppose Tsunade-sama will be giving us a mission soon. Probably won't be anything we're hoping for though, she's already sent Kakashi-sensei to do _proper _recon in the Hidden Rain."

"Uh, yeah," Ichigo replied, not knowing how to otherwise, he had to learn more about this place, but how was he going to do that without arousing suspicion?

"Um, so are you going to sit and watch me train?" he asked, hoping that she might leave him alone for a while, for him to get a proper grip on the situation and organize his thoughts.

"Duh, do I have a choice?"

There was a knock on the door. Sakura answered. Kiba looked into the room and his grin broadened.

"So, it's true, you're on moron duty," he addressed Sakura.

"Sadly, yes," she replied with a sigh, "So, whaddya want?"

"Tsunade-sama wants to see you, she has a mission for you two."

"Uh, okay..." Sakura said, as Kiba left. She closed the door. "Well, than was soon," she said to Ichigo.

At Tsunade's office, she gave them the details of their mission; they were supposed to escort some business tycoon to the capital. Sakura was ready to ensure that Naruto didn't start proclaiming how unsatisfactory this D rank mission was for the entire village to hear, however, to her surprise, he had no comments to make, wow, he really was sick, huh.

When they were about to leave, Tsunade asked Sakura to remain behind for a minute.

"I know that you can more than handle this mission, the guy doesn't even have anyone targeting him, this is all just a precaution. The main objective is to give Naruto a chance to cool off. When you reach the village, you can spend the day as you like, you can even give him a little free reign."

"Arigato, Tsunade-sama." Sakura bowed and left the room.

*****

Ichigo followed Sakura down the dirt road, thinking about his 'mission'. So this was what ninjas did? Wow, his expectations were way too high. It was really boring, but quiet, he enjoyed that. It was almost like having a relatively normal life, well, as normal as it got for him, no one tried to kill him for the day yet, that was probably a record. The journey ended with no incident and they delivered their charge safely.

"Mission completed!" Sakura proclaimed, putting on a beaming smile for Naruto's sake.

"Yeah," Ichigo agreed, staring a t the bustling streets of the town, with all its stores and restaurants and more. It was almost like a normal town, except there were no cars zooming around. People went about their daily business as usual, without a whisper of a justsu, or a headband in sight. He felt kind of at ease here, he could tell that this was not a ninja village and for a moment, his worries diminished, he was in somewhat familiar territory.

"Hey, Naruto, I'm going to let you off of parole for a while if you promise not to do anything stupid, and to meet back with me here in three hours time, I wanna go to the hotsprings," she said, smiling, and ran off.

*****

Ichigo wandered around, aimlessly darting from store to store. Then he spotted a library, finally, this was a chance to find out some information without arousing suspicion. He darted off toward the building, this was the first time he was so eager to visit a library.

After two hours, Ichigo's table could no longer be found under the mess of books strewn haphazardly about. Okay, so the library wasn't all that useful with answering his questions, not that he expected it to be, given that almost all his questions revolved around the preposterous central theme that was 'interdimensional travel'. However, he did gain some knowledge on interesting background information. He learned that the different kages were the respective heads of the five great ninja nations, that each nation had a hidden village that was its main defence in times of feud and strife. Also, he learnt of some of the history of the land, like the previous wars, and important figures. Knowing _something_ put him at some ease. He decided that he'd look through a few more books, maybe look up some stuff for his physics homework, as that particular teacher was one who didn't buy excuses like 'I couldn't do my homework cuz I was stuck in another dimension with ninjas and I just got back, plus I'm exhausted from killing the swarm of hollows that attacked me the minute I set foot back into this dimension, so well, I'll get around to doing that when I have time, which will probably be never', after that, he'd take one more look around the shops.

*****

Sakura walked toward the rendezvous point, feeling refreshed from her visit to the hot springs; she hoped Naruto didn't get himself into any trouble. When she got there, she couldn't believe what she was seeing. What the hell, her eyes had to be deceiving her! Naruto was standing there waiting for her alright, and it didn't seem like he'd caused any problems, but she would have welcomed a scenario like that, as opposed to this one, at least she had years of practice dealing with it, but this...

Naruto was standing there, smiling at her and waving, and she just stood dumbstruck. It took her quite a few minutes to actually process the black skinny jeans, and almost-tight navy blue T-shirt that were clinging to her blond comrade.

"N..N..Naruto? What are you wearing?!" she managed to stutter out, as she approached him.

Ichigo scanned himself in a nearby window, "What? What's wrong with it, doesn't it look good?" he asked, his tone indicating that it was urgent she answer his question, as it was a life and death matter, whether he looked good or not. Yeah, he looked good, he looked _really_ good, but the issue was, why did he care, and why the hell was he wearing _that_. After so many years of strict orange and black, he decided to branch out _now_? What exactly _did_ they do to him in the Hidden less, how on earth was he supposed to fight in that? There is a reason we wear the clothing that we do Naruto!

Ichigo was glancing back and forth, from his reflection to her, waiting for her response. "Yeah, it looks great," she finally managed to choke out, "But why did you decide to change it?"

"I think this is more my style," he replied casually, stuffing his hands in his pockets and taking the lead, "Lets go Sakura."

She followed him, still a little confused.

*****

Confused. This was the first time they had seen their leader so confused.

"What did you say Sasuke?" Suigetsu prodded.

"Na-ru-to!" Okay, and this was the first time he lost his cool over something that didn't seem to be that big of a threat.

"Why the hell are you so agitated?"

Sasuke just glared at Suigetsu and Karin punched him in the face. "I was nearly finished, and leave it to the pest of all pests to interrupt me!" he yelled.

"Sasuke, I think what Suigetsu's trying to ask is what exactly happened, what did the idiot do?" Karin added, in an attempt to get Sasuke to elaborate.

"I had the scroll out, I was doing the jutsu, then I heard 'SASUKE!!', I didn't even have to wonder who that could be, now did I, how he tracked me down, I have no idea!! Long story short, I didn't finish what I was doing, and I need a rest before I start again."

"Sasuke, it would help if we knew exactly what you were trying to do."

"You don't need to know yet," he responded gruffly, and added to himself softly, "I don't even think I do."

Sasuke lay down on the floor and tried to marshal his thoughts, to make sense of all the things that were really bothering him, the things he didn't tell the others.

_Itachi touched him on the forehead and then slid toward the floor, he was gone...Madara was telling him the supposed 'truth' of Itachi's life...Madara wanted him to join forces, like he would, he worked for no one, and first he wanted to verify the truth of what Madara said, but how?...his plan was crazy, there was no possible way, no there had to be a way. He thought maybe Orochimaru, in his quest to cheat death had dappled in the matter a little, but his search in that direction turned up Zilch...Rumours in underworld circles claimed that the area was studied, and a functioning technique created, it was done by the Akatsuki leader, Pain, and kept in the Hidden rain...Pain was defeated, the country, the jutsu, were vulnerable, he should make his move, this would be his only chance if it did indeed exist. He had let this 'obssession' occupy his mind for too long, would he finally be able to put an end to it? Why was it that all his obsessions revolved around his older brother?...Acquiring the jutsu was relatively easy, with the help of the others, and they had done it very discreetly as well, he covered his tracks so well, that his own comrades didn't even know what was going on, what they were stealing...this disappearance of the jutsu was discovered by officials in the village much later, and they had no hope of reclaiming it from Sasuke...it did exist, now the question was, would it work, did he really want it to?_

_It was time, finally, he would know for sure... He made the necessary preparations, and began the ritual, the jutsu was quite long, oh how he prayed it would work, he needed to know... he started, there was a noticeable drop in his chakra level, but it was producing some sort of result, he could see the air before him distorting, feel the laws of the physical world being torn asunder... almost there, then... "SASUKE!", a flash of orange, he was pulled from his thoughts, his concentration broken... Naruto was coming up behind him, some rain ninja close on his tail... Dammit Naruto!... concentrate, concentrate, don't break the jutsu._

_Sasuke was about to turn and leave before he compromised his goal by being discovered, but that was when he saw it happen, Naruto disappeared before his very eyes. At this point, he lost all control over the jutsu, he even momentarily forgot about it... Where did Naruto go, what happened, then less than a moment later, the blond reappeared on the battlefield, his enemies surrounding him now...he was unconscious... Unconscious amidst a throng of enemies... Sasuke realized he had already been seen, his perfect plan already jeopardized by one blond, loudmouthed ninja... a ninja who was about to die... Die, not the hero's death he deserved for all his persistence in life, but to be trampled without even a chance of resisting... 'hah, serves him right, he should stop getting so involved in other peoples business, this'll be a load off my shoulder' Sasuke thought... his body acted unconsciously, he was already discovered so it didn't make a difference... he entered the mass of ninja and grabbed his former comrade's body and quickly made themselves scarce... they had successfully escaped from the pursuing ninja... he lay Naruto on the floor and tried to catch up with his thoughts... Why did he do that?... Why?..._

_He looked at Naruto, still unable to comprehend his actions, then he sensed it... Someone was coming... Leaf ninja, to find Naruto, no doubt... he didn't want to be discovered by any more pesky Konoha-nin, so he retreated to his base... his jutsu was never completed._

Sasuke went through the most recent events that had thrown his mind into the turmoil that it was in now. It wasn't so much not finishing his jutsu that bothered him, it was Naruto's knowledge of where he was, and his response to Naruto's plight. He couldn't sort out what was going on in his head. These things just added to his ever growing list of worries. He needed a rest, then he'd be able to think straight. He shot a weary look at his comrades. Ah, they were so blissfully ignorant of the enormity of the situation. It must be nice to not be so confused.

"Well, the Hidden rain knows we're involved somehow, and Konoha will become involved sooner or later, we'll have to prepare for this and see how best to use it to our advantage." He then retired to bed.

The others shared concerned glances. Geez, Sasuke had to know when to take a break.

*****

"Umm, Naruto, can I ask you something?" Sakura queried, as they were about to re-enter the village.

"Uhuh," Ichigo said absent mindedly, throwing a pebble into the air and catching it repeatedly. He was quite enjoying the quiet life, though he missed his friends.

"Well, um, how do you intend to fight in those clothes?" she said.

"Oh, I'll manage," he replied.

He was oblivious to the number of eyes following him as he walked into the village. Everyone was staring at him, their eyes wide with shock. Sakura pretended she didn't notice a thing.

"N..N..Naruto-k..k..kun," Hinata came up behind him. Her blush deepened when he turned around and she saw that it really was him.

"Um, hey!" Ichigo replied, not knowing what else to say.

"Hey, Naruto, what's with the new style, you finally developed some semblance of a fashion sense?" Kiba grinned broadly.

Ichigo just stood there, taking in the faces and wondering what he should say.

"U..u..um, N..N..Naruto-kun? How are you?" Hinata asked, her facing becoming more scarlet by the second.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but are you okay, you don't look so well, do you have a fever?"

Sakura smile mentally, well, at least Naruto was acting normal again, unbelievably oblivious to Hinata's feelings, there could only be one person that dense in the world.

"I'm f..fine Naruto-kun," Hinata replied, retreating behind Kiba, "Well, see you." With a wave, they were gone.

[AN: poor Shino, he wasn't mentioned at all, why is he hardly ever considered? *Shino sulks*]

Ichigo and Sakura continued walking. They were heading towards Ichiraku's, because Sakura thought that was where Naruto would want to eat dinner. When they were some distance from the ramen shop, Ichigo saw someone waving at them.

"Iruka-sensei!" Sakura beamed, making her way toward him.

"Hey, you two wanna go for ramen, my treat!"

"No thanks," Ichigo replied.

Iruka's jaw dropped. "Naruto, I just said I'm treating you to ramen. Didn't you hear right? Ramen. My treat!"

"Yeah, but I'm fine."

"What?! How? Why?" Iruka thought the sky would start raining fire soon, if this kept up.

"Cuz, I ate ramen last night."

"And???"

"So I'm not in the mood for it tonight?"

Both Sakura and Iruka were dumbstruck.

"Iruka-sensei, I think Naruto still has a little recuperating to do, I'll bring him to have ramen with you when he's sane again, well, as sane as Naruto gets anyways."

"Well, see you around, feel better Naruto."

Judging from the scenario, it seemed Naruto would never turn down ramen, Ichigo made a mental note of this. He had to start acting more Naruto-like. They arrived home and Sakura asked, "so, what are we gonna eat for dinner Naruto?"

Ichigo was already in the kitchen, and the clinking of pots and pans could be heard. Sakura was afraid to look and see what chaos he was creating. She heard sizzling. _Oh dear god, don't set the place on fire!_ After some time, she heard him taking out plates.

"Sakura, mustard and ketchup?"

"Eh?" She turned around and looked. Chicken and chips. It looked edible, but everyone knew, looks can be deceiving. "Well..."he insisted.

"Um, yeah, sure."

He dressed their food and brought her plate over to her. She stared at it. Was it really safe? She watched him shovel fries into his mouth. He seemed to be fine, but then again, it was Naruto. Her tummy grumbled. Oh what the hell. Tentatively, she raised a fry to her mouth and bit. Not bad. She took some more, then a piece of chicken. It was good. She started stuffing her mouth with each mouthful.

"Oi, Naruto, I didn't know you could cook."

He smiled at her, and they continued to scarf down their food as quickly as possible. Sakura volunteered to wash the dishes afterwards. Ichigo was sitting on the couch, poking his finger with a point of a shuriken, seemingly lost in thought, either that, or he was really idle.

"Ouch!" A crimson droplet formed on his fingertip where the weapon pierced his skin. Sakura turned around.

"Baka, clean it up quick before blood gets on the couch, I can't believe you're so stupid!" Ichigo went to the bathroom to wash out his cut and bandaged it. Sakura came over to him on the couch when she was finished with the dishes, and motioned for him to show her the finger. He obeyed. She looked at him and 'tsk'ed. "Seriously Naruto, why are you so careless?" she effortlessly healed the cut.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Uhuh."

"You know, I thought you'd make a big fuss today when Tsunade-sama gave us that totally bogus D ranked mission, but you surprised me. You seem to be doing that a lot lately, you sure you're fine?" she chuckled.

Suddenly, Ichigo had a stroke of brilliance, well he thought so anyways.

"Say, Sakura-chan, lets say I got amnesia, what would you do?"

"Why are you asking something like that Naruto?"

"Dunno, just curious I suppose. C'mon answer me. Hypothetically, what would you do?"

She smiled mischievously. "Well, I'd beat the memories back into you, idiot."

"And when that didn't work?"

"Naruto, where are you going with this?"

"I'm just curious, Sakura. Tell me." Ichigo beamed brightly, anticipating the response, like an impatient little child.

"Well, obviously, I'd try to get you to remember, talk about things, and carry you to places that would jog your memory. I'd start with Ichraku's of course!"

"So, what would you tell me?"

"Everything, from the time we joined Squad 7, come straight back," she replied.

Okay, apparently Ichigo's plan wasn't working, he just had no way of making Sakura divulge details without arousing suspicion, but he could try to get at least some sliver of understanding on the topic of Naruto's life, so that he could play his part better. He tried again.

"So...what's your favourite mission we ever went on?"

"Um, I dunno, but it would have to be one from the early days," she replied, "Why suddenly so nostalgic, Naruto?" she questioned.

Ichigo didn't respond.

"It's okay," Sakura continued, "Sometimes I like to sit and reminisce too... about the good old days, when everything was so carefree... when Sasuke was around and we were squad seven, carrying out missions under Kakashi-sensei... together."

Ichigo noticed how her expression, and tone changed when she said this. The mood felt so sombre now. He realized that this was not the first time he had heard the name Sasuke since his arrival here. If he remembered correctly, whatever Naruto was doing when the switch occurred had something to do with this person.

Sakura looked at Naruto's thoughtful face and hoped she hadn't upset him. In an attempt to cheer him up, she said, "But some things well never change, eh, Naruto. You'll always be a baka, ne?"

"Hey!" Ichigo snapped out of his thoughts, and taking mock offence, threw a cushion at Sakura, she dodged and stuck out her tongue at him.

"Missed me!"

He tried, and failed again.

"Oh, and another thing, you'll always be the number one hyperactive ninja, no doubt about that!" she laughed, as Ichigo was firing cushiony projectiles at her until the couch was bare. Each one missed the target and they were both doubled over with laughter. Sakura caught her breath and tossed them back, hitting her mark each time.

"Night Naruto," she called, as she turned off the light and covered up.

"Night, Sakura-chan," he called in reply.

Ichigo rolled over on the couch, knowing sleep would not come. Ironically, whilst none of his questions had been answered, he now found himself with so much to ponder. One thing he was now certain of, he had found himself good company. He considered himself good judge of character, and he thought these ninja were nice people. They definitely weren't evil in the slightest. They were kind, and hospitable and welcoming. He felt really comfortable here.

He lay on the couch, wondering who Sasuke was, and what had happened to him. Had he been kidnapped, like Orihime was by Aizen? Ichigo still knew nothing, and he had no inkling how he was going to change that.

After some time, he felt like he was drifting off to sleep. His consciousness was fading, slowly, then he felt a sudden jerk and a tug, and everything went spinning. He opened his eyes to find himself in his inner world.

"So, Ichigo, how's the ninja life?" Zangetsu inquired.

"Um, it's okay, I guess... Why's it so quiet, I thought the big orange thing would be making a racket still?"

"Because, believe it or not, your infernal hollow actually managed to annoy it into submission."

"I have no problems whatsoever believing that," Ichigo said, as Shiro bobbed up and down behind him, pestering him for a fight, "No. Problem. At. All." He continued through gritted teeth.

"C'mon king, it's sooooooo B-O-R-I-N-G! Just one little fight," he pleaded.

"Knock it off Shiro."

"Actually, Shiro's constant irritations proved useful," Zangetsu said.

Ichigo raised his eyebrows.

"Because he had to deal with pest control problems, I managed to extort some information from the Kyuubi, however, I don't know how useful it will be."

"Shoot, it's gotta be better than what I've got."

"Well, let's see, more than likely, you're currently in the village of Konoha..."

"Got that."

"...Ruled by the hokage, currently, a woman..."

"uhuh."

"Your host, Naruto Uzumaki, an orphan, is an idiot, or so I've heard."

"Got that too" Ichigo laughed.

"Last thing he did before you switched was chase after one Sasuke Uchiha."

Ichigo's attention perked up.

"What about Sasuke?" he asked anxiously, "What else did you hear about him?"

"He's a sharingan user-"

"Whatever that means," Shiro interjected.

"- and apparently, now he's probably 'joined forces with that bastard Madara'"

"Okay, well at least now I've got a start to search from, I'll try again to dig something up when I get chance. Anyways, you know what happened to Sasuke?"

"Well, Naruto's chasing him for some reason."

"Yeah, based on what Sakura said, he used to be their teammate. Wonder if he was kidnapped?"

"Or he could have defected," Zangetsu added, looking at Ichigo, who nodded his head. He knew all too well that the possibility existed, he himself was currently fighting a battle with three former Gotei 13 Captains. Zangetsu continued, "And, from the way things are being told, that seems more likely."

"It's really sad if that's the case, cuz his friends still have faith in him."

"Speaking of which, how's life in Konoha?"

"It's fine, they're all friendly, just this guy seems to be a real ramen addict though," Ichigo answered.

"And the missions, is it easy to fight without me?" Zangetsu asked with a smile.

"I haven't had to fight yet, no serious missions," Ichigo yawned and took a seat on the side of a building.

"Well, you should start training and get accustomed to it if you're going to be here long, because, from what I've gathered from the Kyuubi, the fights are tough, and the missions are serious. It's kill or be killed, Ichigo."

"In short, the usual?" Ichigo grinned.

Zangetsu smiled back and replied, "It's not the same, true, you're accustomed to fighting, but it'll be different, trust me. The whole motive and nature itself is different, you'll see."

Ichigo stored Zangetsu's words, he was sure some time in the near future, when it was already too late, he'd bother to decipher them, in the mean while...

"Hey, Shiro, how bout that fight?"

Shiro stopped attempting to poke the Kyuubi with his zanpakuto and looked up eagerly.

When Ichigo saw what his hollow had been doing, he screamed, "SHIROSAKI!!!"

They both unsheathed their swords, grinning manically, after Ichigo got over his rage at Shiro, this was a warm up for the training that Ichigo would soon have to undergo to take his place in ninja society.

"Getsuga-"

"-Tenshou!"

And they began.


	5. Girlfriend!

**Well, it looks like Sakura wanted some drama, and she got a little more than she bargained for.**

GIRLFRIEND?

Sakura watched her blond companion closely as he sat on the lush green grass, examining the weapons splayed in front of him. He had been so different since he came back that she couldn't help but think that this wasn't Naruto, as silly as the thought was. Sure people changed, and she thought no matter how much Naruto changed, if he became the polar opposite of the Naruto she new, he would still have some distinct Naruto-ness that would define him, like a glycoprotein antenna sticking out of his blond hair allowing her to recognize him, but it seemed that essential core, his Naruto aura, was now absent. The boy before her, though similar to Naruto in some ways, felt like a totally different person, not just because of some of the behaviour changes. She told herself that even if he acted exactly as Naruto, she still wouldn't think he was. Something was off. Not that she didn't like the new Naruto, she just thought that he wasn't Naruto at all, which made her wonder, where was _her _Naruto. Or was she being silly? No, she couldn't shake off her instinct, something was very wrong...

And, to make matters worse, she found that in the space of these few days, she'd grown attached to him, despite her suspicions. She decided to keep a close watch, and find out anything else she could, though, she would keep her suspicions to herself. Whoever he was, if he indeed wasn't Naruto, he seemed kind and harmless enough, then again, people act. If he really was harmless, she thought, why's he pretending to be Naruto? She had to uncover the bigger issue, knowing she'd regret it the moment she did. Why did Naruto have to bring so much complications into her life?

She was wrenched from her thoughts by the blond's question, "Hey, Sakura, where can I get a sword?"

"..."

He looked up at her questioningly, with sparkling eyes.

"Eh?" What-the-hell? A sword?! "Why, Naruto?"

"Um," he switched from seriousness to sarcasm, "To skewer marshmallows on and roast them over an open fire, why else?"

"Knowing you, that could very well be the most plausible reason," she retorted, and it was true, for the real Naruto anyways.

'Oh Sakura, don't be like that, what if he _is_ the real Naruto, and you're just being paranoid, stop thinking things like that.'

'_He's not, I can feel it! Naruto isn't here!'_

She snapped back to reality as Ichigo waved his hand in front of her face. "Hello, earth to Sakura."

"Um, yeah, a sword? Well you could go find a blacksmith. Planning to try out a new fighting style?"

"Yeah, just wanted to try it out, and hey, if I suck at swordsmanship, well, you're invited to come over for toasted marshmallows." They both laughed as Ichigo extended a hand and helped her off the grass.

Fake Naruto wasn't so bad, given the personality he displayed wasn't fake too, she could see them being friends in the future.

.....

'Naruto' was describing the design of the sword he wanted to the blacksmith.

"Um, yeah, like about this long," he gestured, indicating almost his entire body length.

"No way Naruto, that's too long, you won't be able to handle it. Plus it'll be heavy, it'll slow you down. I know you've got it in your head that it'll look awesome, and it'll be bigger than Sasuke's and -"

Ichigo ignored every word, and she was beginning to get angry. She could swear that all the pent up anger, the levels of which were now increasing, were promoting her electrons to orbitals they never even dreamed existed, and she wouldn't be surprised if she was giving off some sort of super frustration-radiation right now, because she definitely felt like shooting of a Sakura flare, probably in the form of quantums of anger, mixed with extra concentrated chakra at her companion right now. She was totally beet red, with a vein pulsing visibly in her forehead, and he was _still_ ignoring her!

"Yeah, so, maybe if you could make the design like this," Ichigo continued, drawing on a piece of paper, a sword like Tensa Zangetsu. He thought it would be better if he had something he was familiar with.

Sakura's infuriation was inflating at a steady rate, that bloody blond and his stubborn attitude. Did he ever listen to anyone? She had long learnt that sometimes it was better to let Naruto get his way, because he would eventually, and let him make mistakes, it was just that Naruto's mistakes sometimes tended to prove lethal, to him, and those around him. But it was better for her health if she just let him be, she was sure she had already burst a few arteries. That seemed to be another thing the two Narutos had in common, they were experts at sending up people's blood pressure without even trying. Seriously, she wondered why Konoha didn't make use of Naruto's potential. Force the enemy to spend a few days straight with him, they'd either drop dead from exhaustion, frustration or the health risks of too much ramen, go insane or break down in tears, repent, and beg for it to be over.

Her temper was cooling down, she smiled a little at Naruto's hidden 'talent', maybe she'd make a suggestion to Tsunade-sama.

"Hey, Sakura, you ready to go?" Ichigo asked, disrupting her little daydream of some nameless, faceless enemy saying how sorry he was, and that he'd do anything they wanted, as long as he didn't have to stay with the blond menace. Inner Sakura was cackling like she was insane, oh yeah, Sakura was in a better mood now.

"Um, it's not like _I_ needed a sword, is it?" she replied, rolling her eyes and walking out on to the street. On the inside she was still reeling with laughter. Ichigo followed behind.

.....

Sakura was ready for her assault. She was going to determine if this really was Naruto or not, though she knew no matter the outcome of this little experiment, she'd still hang on to what her instincts told her. She had thought of several ways to do this, but she had picked the plan that was the most potentially amusing.

She watched her comrade do target practice, aiming shuriken after shuriken and different spots marked off in the vicinity, at all angles and positions. He had started off with a straight target on a tree in front of him, and it was quite entertaining, because in the beginning, his aim was _horrible_. No actually, that was an understatement. But he glowered at her when she laughed, saying that he was just a little out of practice, and that his coordination and motor skills still weren't at there optimum performance since his injuries, and soon enough, she was made to cease her laughter, as he got into the swing of things and hit the mark time after time.

He was progressing exponentially. He was now able to do it with his eyes closed, literally, hitting targets positioned behind boulders, and within little crevices, around corners and much more. And his agility had increased too, as he hit every mark almost simultaneously on his last try. She had recalled Sasuke doing something similar when they were younger, one of those times she was _not_ stalking him.

She decided to take the opportunity to launch her attack as he came over, drenched in sweat, to take a break.

"So, Naruto, what're you getting Ino for her birthday?" She asked, smiling mischievously. She decided against using Hinata, it would be too cruel to play with the fragile girl's feelings. Ino on the other hand was a different matter, because no matter which way things went, it wouldn't get bad for anyone, except maybe Naruto. If things got out of hand, Ino'd just beat the crap out of the boy and walk away virtually unaffected, and Sakura would have no objection to the entertainment.

"When is it again?" Ichigo asked.

"Tomorrow, Naruto! For god's sake she _is_ you're girlfriend!" Sakura was trying her best not to burst out laughing at the statement.

"Well, I've had a lot on my mind lately, kill me." Ichigo was digesting this piece of information. He recalled seeing the blond haired girl in the flower shop, Ino. He hoped that was the one. He couldn't go making a mess of Naruto's love life by mixing up who was his girlfriend. He was almost positive she was Ino though. He thought it would be best to steer clear of Naruto's girlfriend, as he didn't want to get mixed up in, let alone ruin, Naruto's love life. Plus, his girlfriend was sure to no him well enough to become suspicious. Little did he know, it was the girl with the bubblegum pink hair, sitting next to him that he should've been wary of. He always was a slow learner, if he took away any sort of knowledge from his time as a shinigami, it should have been, THE ONES WITH PINK HAIR ARE THE MOST DANGEROUS!!! Really, he had Yachiru and Szayel as proof of this theory, why did he never learn?

"So, what are you gonna buy for her," Sakura continued on mischievously.

Ichigo supposed he couldn't get out of this one, the girl would get suspicious if he ignored her birthday.

"What do you suggest?" Ichigo asked, having no experience in this matter whatsoever, and adding to that fact, he knew nothing about the girl in question.

"Why don't we go shopping, and see what you can get her," Sakura said, "I can't believe you forgot your own girlfriend's birthday, you really are the worst, Naruto." But on the inside, her laughter knew no bounds.

'So, I guess I was right about our little imposter.'

'_Uhuh, but more importantly, this if going to be FUN!!!'_

.....

"Hey, did you guys ever notice that Naruto's really easy on the eyes?" Tenten asked, as she watched Naruto and Sakura strolling down the street. They seemed to be looking to buy something, because she had seen them walk in and out of quite a few stores. Her view of the two, however, was blocked as a jealous Neji moved to occupy her field of vision.

"Yeah, the new wardrobe isn't bad either," Ino giggled, "I never thought those muscles were hiding behind all that orange these past years."

Hinata just blushed furiously as they talked.

"Hmm, I wonder what inspired the wardrobe change?" Tenten continued.

"Maybe Sakura finally decided she needed a new piece of eye candy now that Sasuke's not around," Ino chirped in.

Tenten nudged Ino and laughed, "You're so mean, but if that's the case, I thank her for her decision," she continued, straining her eyes to see around Neji.

"Ahem," he cleared his throat loudly, shifting again, to block the blond from his girlfriend's view.

"You okay?" she asked obliviously, still making her eyes turn corners and watch around her boyfriend at the two who now entered a jewellery store. Everyone else present laughed.

"Tenten, stop torturing him, can't you see he's jealous!" Neji blushed a little at Ino's words. Tenten turned to face him.

"Aww, that's so cute!"

"I am NOT jealous! Especially of Naruto."

"Whatever you say hon," Tenten responded, giggling.

In the meantime, Ino was still enjoying the view, _she_ didn't have a boyfriend to stop her. To her surprise, the blond noticed her and waved back enthusiastically, beaming with radiance. She hesitantly raised her hand and did a kind of half-wave back.

Tenten was eyeing her friend mischievously. "Hmm, I wonder what's going on between you two. Be careful Ino, Sakura not so nice when she's jealous, or when someone tries to take something that's hers," she said to her friend, pointing a finger at her, and laughing while she spoke,

"Oh, shut up!"

.....

Sakura had helped Naruto pick out a nice gold band, which _she_ loved. She figured when Ino beat Naruto to a bloody pulp after he insinuated that they were together, she could take it. Just one more of the perks of busting the fake Naruto. And the real Naruto need not ever know why his money was depleted to such an extent.

"Don't worry, I'm giving you free reign for your date tonight."

"D..date?!"

"Yeah, you carry Ino out for the night on her birthday every year since she became your girlfriend."

"But I'm really tired. I don't think I've fully recovered from my injuries yet."

"She'll be really disappointed and angry if you don't , she's been complaining that you've been so distant lately," Sakura nudged.

"Oh, well," Ichigo sighed. He decided that he couldn't get out of it. He'd just have to be really careful for the one night.

.....

The next day came, and believe it or not, Ichigo found it bothering him that this was going to be his first date. Plus, it was even his date. Why was his life so complicated? He was really nervous, so he decided that he'd go give Ino her gift before anyone else came to see her. Sakura, pretending to be supportive, was fixing his hair and saying, "Don't forget to tell her how completely gorgeous she looks, and remember she loves it when you flirt with her." She could hardly contain her excitement. She would enjoy this, oh yes!

Ichigo gulped. Flirt?! Was he even capable of that? Oh geez, this was going to be tougher than he thought.

"Oh, yeah, I told you she's been complaining that you've been distant, so try to be as love-dovey as you two usually are, it's her birthday, make her happy!"

_Kill me now!_

Watching Ichigo's expression, Sakura really began to wonder where she got her evil mind from, she didn't know, but she was glad she had it. She couldn't wait!

.....

He walked toward the flower shop with Sakura, fidgeting and anxiously cracking his knuckles the whole time. When he reached the entrance to the flower shop, he took a deep breath. Oh god, he hoped it went well, praying that his acting skills didn't fail him now. He built up some composure, and strode confidently into the flower shop, where Ino was busily watering some rose blossoms. Sakura peeped in from the door, watching her plan in motion.

Ichigo took one more deep breath. Quietly, he walked up behind the blond girl, and snaked his arms around her.

Before Ino could even react, he said in a most attractive voice, "Happy Birthday, gorgeous."

This was it, Sakura waited for the reaction she knew would come. _Knock his lights out Ino._

Instead, the dumfounded girl stuttered, "N..N..Naruto?" Who knew she could sound so much like Hinata.

He turned her around to face him. With one of her hands in his, he titled his head, looked her in the eyes and said, "Who else silly, you're so cute when you stutter," with a smile that the Orbitz people would kill to have on one of their advertisements. He continued to stare at her, and she continued to look into his sparkling eyes, dumfounded. She was looking totally starstruck.

_Why the hell isn't she pummelling him? Anytime now Ino!_ Sakura was getting impatient.

"Close your eyes, and open you're hands," he said playfully, and so she did. Ino had no idea what was going on, and evidently, due to the shock, he body's response mechanism clearly wasn't functioning, at all. Also, part of her didn't really mind what was happening, though, she thought it was more than likely a dream.

She felt him hang something on her index finger. When she opened her eyes, there was a sparkly little bag hanging from it. She just stared. Ichigo held her other hand, playing with her fingers.

"So, aren't you gonna open it," he asked cutely, looking up at her through those beautifully long eyelashes. Ino simply nodded.

"Uhuh."She freed her hand from Naruto's and began to open the box.

Sakura's jaw was practically touching the ground now. She had no idea what was up with the blond girl. All she knew was that her plan didn't seem to be working as smoothly as she thought it would. And now she watched 'Naruto' place _her_ band on Ino's hand, while the girl blushed. She whimpered a little.

_Come on Ino, at least figure out this isn't Naruto, he could never pull this off this smoothly!_

Ichigo embraced Ino once more, this time more tightly. Without releasing her, he rest his forehead on hers and asked soflty, "Do you like it?"

"Yes," she replied, avoiding his eyes, and trying hard not to stutter this time.

"That's wonderful," he said, "I'm sorry I took so long to drop by," he continued, as he leaned his weight more against her, pressing her to the wall.

Sakura watched, aghast, as they stayed that way for a couple moments. Then they broke apart

Still holding her hands, Ichigo kissed Ino on her forehead. The poor confused girl noticed she was so disoriented form the happenings of the day [and it was only 8 o' clock in the morning] that she even forgot how to breathe. Then he slowly slid his hands out of hers and turned to leave. She watched as he strided elegantly toward the door. Midway, her turned and said, 'I'll pick you up at 8 tonight, is that fine," with one of those dazzling smiles. Ino nodded, still not sure what was happening.

He smiled again, "Great," and left without another word.

When he left, she slid to the floor, trying to regain the ability to breathe. Inhale. Exhale. Trying to make sense of what just happened was taking a toll on her. She looked at the band on her hand, and then touched the still warm spot on her forehead. _What the hell?_

.....

Sakura was pacing in the living room. She never imagined the plan could go so terribly wrong. Now she had another issue to deal with, one that she started, before she could confront fake Naruto about his identity. What had she done? She just hooked Ino up with a total stranger. Who knew the boy would be so good at this, or that Ino would react that way. Then a next thought struck her, Ino didn't even hesitate, did that mean she had feelings for Naruto, or was it just the smooth moves of the fake Naruto that entranced her. Ugh! Her life was becoming more complicated by the second.

Since 'Naruto' had arrived home, he said he needed to go to the bathroom, and never came back out. The truth is, whilst Sakura was pacing in the living room, Ichigo was doing the same in the bathroom, and he was much closer to a nervous breakdown than she.

_Oh my god, I can't believe I just did that, I can't believe I just did that, I CANNOT believe I just did that! What the hell am I going to do? And I have a date with her tonight, oh no, how am I going to get through that. Why did this bloody Naruto have to have a social life? Why?_

He leaned on the wall, trying to calm down. Breathe. Inhale. Exhale. Right, that's it. Slowly, he was moving further and further away from the anxiety attack he was sure had been imminent mere seconds ago. He slipped into his subconscious.

"King, who knew you were so good with the ladies?" Shiro chided.

"Shut up Shiro!" he yelled, before he lowered himself to the floor and placed his face in his palms.

"I think he needs some time to relax, Shirosaki," Zangetsu concluded, "Provocation might not be a good idea now."

"But he's a mess, he better pull himself together in time for his hot date tonight."

Ichigo growled, pulling off one of his shoes and flinging it at his hollow. The thud and 'ouch' indicated it met his mark. That target practice did come in useful after all.

.....

An hour later found Ino still in the same position on the floor, trying to decipher what unfolded that morning. So far, her efforts were in vain, as the only thing that kept popping up in her mind was the he kissed her, and she didn't mind. She had made some progress though, she was breathing again.

The door of the flower shop burst open, as her exuberant friends entered.

"There's the birthday girl! Happy –"

Tenten stopped short as she saw her friend on the floor.

"What happened?" she asked.

"You look like someone ambushed you, you okay?" Kiba asked.

Ino stood up, trying her best to remain steady.

"Yeah, I'm fine, a bug from one of the flowers just frightened me, that's all." She was not ready to divulge the events of this morning to everyone.

She regained her composure and put on a brave face to her friends. "So, presents?" she said happily, stretching out her hand. Tenten noticed the new band.

They spent the rest of the morning together, talking and celebrating.

"So, what do you want to do for your birthday?" Chouji asked, "Where's the cake?" He looked around expectantly as if the cake would pop out of thin air.

"Please, don't say a party, that would be so troublesome," Shikamaru contributed.

"Actually, I already haves plans," she said quietly, and before they could question her further, she said, "And I should get going. One of you guys close up for me, please! And Tenten, you're coming with!"

She grabbed the girl with the two buns by the wrist as she dashed out of the door.

.....

"He _what?!_" Tenten practically yelled, as Ino told her what happened that morning. "This is epic! Are you sure that's what happened?"

"Yeah, I don't think that there's anyway this could be a mix up, he _kissed me_."

"Maybe it's a joke, or a dare. Naruto? You sure?" she asked for the nineteenth time.

"Yes, blond hair, blue eyes, tight T-shirt, who else could it be. Stop asking that?"

"Sorry, it's just that this is so unbelievable. Who knew Naruto liked you?"

"Who knew he was so forward?"

"Please, the real question is, who knew you would give him the opportunity to do something like that. I would've thought he'd be hospitalized from the moment he put his arms around you."

"Me too, but somehow, I didn't feel to kill him. I think I liked it. My breathing stopped, and I couldn't speak properly, and... I didn't want him to let go," she finished shyly, blushing.

"So, you like him?"

"Well, I have a date with him tonight."

"Let me see that band again," Tenten said, grabbing Ino's wrist. "Wow, this looks expensive, he must really be serious."

Ino just blushed more.

"Wow, this is just wow, there's no other way to describe it!" she said, as she dropped herself onto Ino's bed.

"OMG!" she squealed, "This is so exciting, we have to get you ready for your date!"

.....

Ichigo woke up on Naruto's bed, so disoriented, he didn't even remember coming out of the bathroom. The day's events flashed through his mind, like a really bad drama. Dammit, why him, why was it always him?

Girlfriend. _Naruto's _girlfriend. Date. These words were swimming in and out of his mind, making him nauseous. What was he going to do? His head hurt. Maybe if he was sick, he could get out of it. But then she'd be angry and sad. But what if she found out he wasn't her boyfriend, and there was a good chance of that happening. His cover would be blown, and she'd be even angrier, and for some reason, the girls he knew always tended to worse than the embodiment of death when they were angry, and he had a feeling this kunoichi would be no exception. His life was hell. He buried his face in his pillow, dreading nightfall. He needed more rest if he was going to be able to do this. Where was Mizuiro when you needed his advice? Ichigo fell asleep thinking, _Naruto, I hate you!_

.....

Naruto sneezed. "I think I caught a cold since I came here," he said to Rukia.

"Just don't get me sick!" she replied, backing away from him.

He was in Ichigo's room, in the orange haired's body. He had adjusted a little to life here over the past few days, for example, he was now able to tune Kon out completely. _Man, if I carry him back home with me, no one will ever call me annoying again!_

He remembered when he now got back. He met, and attacked the shopkeeper, Urahara, who turned out to be a really good fighter. They explained to him that they were shinigami, he thought they were a bunch of quacks at first, but, he couldn't deny that they had some pretty cool powers. He didn't quite understand what was going on, or how he got there, all he knew was that he wasn't in Konoha any more.

"**So, anyone care to explain to me what the hell's going on?" he asked, after chasing the man with the striped clothes for the past half an hour.**

"**Well, it would seem that you've switched bodies with our Ichigo-kun," Urahara said, from behind his fan.**

"**No duh!" was all Naruto could say to the shopkeeper's overflowing intelligence.**

"**Oh, aren't you an eloquent one," the former twelfth division taicho teased, "About on the same level as Ichigo."**

"**Whatever, does anyone know why we switched bodies? By the way, where exactly am I? This doesn't look like any country I know."**

"**Where in Karakura." the man with the hat replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.**

"**Huh, where? What nation is that in?"**

"**Japan, and as you would put it, duh!"**

"**Japan? Never heard of it," Naruto said.**

**They all stared at him as if he were an alien.**

"**What? Why are you looking at me like that?"**

"**Where exactly are **_**you**_** from, Naruto-kun, perhaps we may understand the situation better if we knew a bit more about you," Urahara said, sitting up straight, ready to listen intently.**

"**Well, I'm from Konoha."**

"**Huh, where?" Ishida asked.**

"**You know, in the fire country?"**

"**Nope."**

**Naruto was puzzled, but he continued anyways. "Well, that's where I'm from. And I'm one of the best ninja in my village!" he said proudly, pointing to himself and smiling, to emphasize the point, "And I'm going to be the next Hokage!"**

**They stared.**

"**..." Rukia raised her eyebrows.**

"**What?!" Ishida replied.**

"**Could you elaborate a bit more please?" Urahara asked.**

**Naruto delved into the details of the ninja world. When he was done, Rukia said incredulously, "So you really are a ninja?"**

"**Yep, one of the best!"**

"**Well, it seems as though we're from different worlds, parallel universes, if you would, or alternate dimensions if you prefer. I know not what has caused our little predicament, nor how to reverse it, but I'll do some research and get back to you. In the mean time, you have to live as Ichigo, the humans won't notice your difference in reiatsu, so bear with his family and enjoy his school life, Ishida, Chad and Orihime will be there to assist you, and I'll see what I can do."**

**Without any answers or progress as to the 'issue' they left the shopkeeper's.**

**Yoruichi looked at Urahara. Despite what he said, there was never a time when he ever not-knew something, so she asked.**

"**So, what information do you have for me?"**

"**Well, a while back, I was doing some research in this area–"**

"**Well, there's a shocker!"**

"**- and anyways, there are indeed alternate worlds to ours out there. They each abide by their own natural and supernatural laws. No two are alike. Some are more advanced than others, be it in technology, of in the use of spiritual power."**

"**Go on."**

"**Each has its own way to deal with death and rebirth. Some have unique portrayals of shinigami, some have systems close to ours, but the most important thing is that the after lives don't mix, the only times souls are suppose to transcend the barriers within the dimensions is during reincarnation. However, there are often little rifts in time and space, and through these rifts, exchange may be possible, though these occurrences are few and far between. I hypothesise that someone, or something caused a tear in the interdimensional fabric, and instead of just crossing over, there was a swap, as to why that occurred, your guess is as good as mine."**

"**I highly doubt that Kisuke."**

**.....**

**Naruto was led to a room by Rukia, through the window. On entering, an orange haired kid attacked him saying "Ichigo, thank god you're back, they've been running me ragged. When Yuzu isn't making me play tea party or dress up with her, Karin has me doing soccer drills with her. I swear, I haven't gotten one minute of rest. Take it back, take back your body, and you go play!"**

"**..."**

"**That's Kon, he's in Ichigo's body right now so his family doesn't get suspicious. You take this," she gestured to the substitute soul reaper badge, "And press it against him really **_**hard**_**–"**

"**Nee-san, you don't have to do it hard!"**

"**-and you go into the body afterwards."**

"**What?"**

"**Its simple, look," as she spoke, she expelled Kon's soul candy from the body.**

"**What the hell are you doing, what's that candy looking thing?"**

"**This is a mod soul, this **_**is**_** Kon."**

"**You're serious?"**

"**Dead. No pun intended. Now get in the body." **

**Naruto did as he was told and entered the body. Then Rukia reanimated the little lion form of Kon. He ran up to her yelling "Nee-san" with open arms for a hug, and she stepped on him.**

"**Kon gets annoying at times, but he's easy to deal with."**

After that, Rukia had explained everything he needed to know. Ichigo's family, school, friends, the role and duties of the shinigami, the upcoming war. He had taken in all the information quietly, still not daring to believe he had crossed realms and swapped bodies with a death god of all things. Wait, no Rukia said Ichigo was human, with shinigami powers, he wasn't _dead_ like the rest of them.

Rukia also taught Naruto how to perform konso on the lost souls, which he had done a couple times since, and Urahara let him use his underground training grounds for practice, seeing as he needed to get used to his new powers.

Naruto wondered how things were at home. Was Ichigo having a harder time than he was, how was the village taking the change? However, the thought that crossed his mind more often was that he was so close to Sasuke, and he missed.

.....

Ichigo awoke as the alarm signalled that it was quarter to eight. He sat up and braced himself. He was about to get himself ready to go off to his doom, which was only fifteen minutes away. Only some divine miracle could save him now. Was this really happening?

He got up and began to prepare for his date. His _first_ date. His date with _someone else's_ girlfriend. Oh yeah, there was no way things would go smoothly.

**Hmm, I wonder how Ichigo's first date will be?**

**Comments people, I need feedback for this one. I have no idea where this part of the story came from.**


	6. Reunion

**Ta-da. Finally, a new chapter. Sorry to disappoint those who were looking forward to things on ichigo's side, but I realized, five chapters, and only one was Naruto, so I decided to give him some air time before he started complaining. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

REUNION

Sasuke meandered blindly along. Even his superb eyes were no match for the suffocating darkness that engulfed him from all sides. Despite this, he moved forward. His legs pulled him onward, led not by his confused mind, but by his wayward heart, which was somehow able to navigate through the unknown, to whatever it was it yearned for. He himself had no clue. He was merely a slave to the workings of his heart, being strung along involuntarily as it journeyed to the destination of its desires. Instinctively, he kept on moving through the labyrinth of darkness, never wavering or hesitant as to which path he should take.

He wondered what he was searching for. He could feel the strong pull of what ever it was, the attractive force, drawing him ever so nearer. It was something that meant the world to him, that alone he knew, he had no inkling as to its exact nature. From the strong craving, no, need, that he felt to attain whatever it was, he could only surmise that it was something that held great meaning and was of equivalence to his deepest wish becoming a reality. It would be the thing, that, were he to gaze onto the smooth, glassy surface of the mirror of Erised, he would see him self possessing, bringing him happiness and fulfilment. At this point, he was more consciously anxious to get to his destination, if only to satisfy his curiousity as to what could bring about such a great hold on him, almost like an obsession. What was it he sought, that he thought when he found it all his troubles would either disappear into dust, or fade to the back of his mind, overshadowed by the joy at what he had gained?

He could feel himself drawing nearer to it, he just sensed it. His heart beat hard and fast against his chest in a steady rhythm, he could feel the adrenalin within him pumping, he became ever more nervous, yet relieved. He was finally about to reach his destination. He quickened his pace, and turning a corner, found himself in an illuminated clearing. It's contrast to the depressing and bleak path he was formerly on couldn't be more obvious. The gloom and darkness had been replaced by a light so bright and pure that it seemed to fill every fibre of his being, revitalising him. Where exactly the light was streaming in from, he knew not. He was finally ready to search for his treasure, when he noticed the light was brightest at a certain area in the clearing.

He turned his eyes toward the immense brightness, focussing on the figures within. A scowl took up residence on his face when he realized what he was looking at. Amidst the bright light was none other than the three people he least wanted to see, or so he told himself. Kakashi was leaning on a wall, book undoubtedly in hand. Naruto sat at his feet, blue orbs peering directly at the Uchiha, Sakura stood at his side, unmistakable pink hair ruffling slightly in the gentle breeze, which, like the light, seemed to come from nowhere.

Sasuke couldn't believe it. They had to be here to interfere with his quest at this exact moment, when he was so close to his goal. Well, if it was a fight they wanted, he'd give them one. His hand was midway through the act of reaching for his katana, when it struck him as odd that the loudmouthed blond had not made the first move, ranting about how he would 'bring him back no matter what'. His muscles tensed as he continued to observe. He couldn't believe that facing _team seven_ could make him feel like he was in _unfamiliar_ territory, oh, but it did. They did not react as expected. Naruto just sat there...wait, was that a smile? Eh?

He continued to watch on with wide eyes as team seven basked in the serenity that pervaded in the clearing. Then, he dropped his hand limply to his side, astounded, when Naruto motioned with a graceful movement of his hand for Sasuke to come sit next to him, and pulled out two bento. He couldn't fathom why the world had suddenly changed its rotation, much less, what force had knocked it out of its orbit so that it was now plummeting into the fiery sun with exceptional speed. He had started the countdown to doomsday in his head.

_And three, two, one, BOOM! _

But at the moment of supposed impact, what actually did hit was realization. This was the room he had searched for so frantically, that contained the drug he was addicted to, the antidote that would save him from the brink of death, the object of his infatuation, the thing his very soul pined for, and yet, now, on closer inspection, he could see that the room held nothing, nothing, but his abandoned teammates. They were all that awaited him at the end of his quest. Aside from him, and them, the room was remarkably devoid of anything else, not even a speck of dust. It couldn't be that...

Sasuke sat up abruptly, waking from sleep, perspiration forming little droplets on his forehead. His mind was spinning, his breath was quick. He needed fresh air. Why had the dream bothered him so much, it meant nothing, right? Furthermore, why in heaven's name did he even have such a dream? He had to make sense of it. Maybe his mind was just too stressed these days, yeah, that had to be it. He opened the door, and ventured into the night, moonlight glistening off his pale skin, dancing on the beads of moisture. Nothing like the cool night air to soothe the troubled mind and heart.

.........

One week. That was how long Naruto had been in Karakura. He didn't at all mind the life here, the only thing he didn't like about it was that it wasn't _his_ life, he had another life, one he was attached to, with friends and loved ones, with goals and accomplishments, with the feeling of home. However, he did decide to make the most of the adventure here, seeing as he could do absolutely nothing about his predicament for the time being. He would help his new friends in their goal, for he saw the shinigami's cause as similar to that of the ninja. However, he was worried about his home, and his friends. One thing he had discovered while training at Urahara's was that the Kyuubi didn't accompany him on his little trip, so that made him wonder what kind of havoc was Konoha being treated to at the moment.

He sure as hell hoped the Kyuubi hadn't been set free during the switch. Saying the consequences would be disastrous was an understatement. Catastrophic? Nope. Cataclysmic? Nuh-uh. Apocalyptic? Not quite severe enough. There was no word which could accurately outline a percentage of the direness of the situation were that to happen. But if that was not the case, then what? Did the Kyuubi now reside in Ichigo? Would he be able to handle it? These were among the many thoughts that swirled around Naruto's mind, threatening to burst it at the seams and spill the squishy contents of his brain on Ichigo's clean carpet. He tried his best not to think of home, for there was so much to think about, that when he did think, he wasn't able to focus and think properly, plunging his mind into more chaos. He decided that it was best not to dwell on something that he could do nothing about, a something that may or may not be happening. He would have to go with the flow and hope for the best.

"Ichi-nii, dinner's ready," came the sweet voice of Kurosaki Yuzu, Ichigo's younger sister, and one of Naruto's new favourite cooks. He went down to dinner, before she got mad, thinking that Ichigo must really be missing his life right then.

His life, his family, his friends, there was no way Ichigo wasn't missing every second with them. Naruto simply adored the two Kurosaki girls, and unlike Ichigo, he did not mind the constant sneak attacks Kurosaki Isshin launched at him on an hourly basis when he was at home. He saw it as extra training. In truth and in fact, he took it so seriously, that their fights had escalated into full blown duels on more than one occasion only to be stopped by Karin. You say who could blame them for being a little over enthused and getting swept up in the moment? Well I dare say the black haired Kurosaki girl could.

Also, Naruto knew first hand that Ichigo's friends, even the perfectly normal, human type ones, were really kind. He had been to school in Ichigo's place a few days, and had met them. He took a particular liking to one Kiego Asano, he reminded Naruto of someone; loud, hyper, smiling, always rushing into things, but Naruto couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Naruto made his way down to dinner trying not to think too much, and he succeeded when the tantalizing scent of Yuzu's cooking rendered all his other senses stupefied. After dinner, he sat in Ichigo's room, fiddling with his I-pod. Unlike Ichigo, he had absolutely no problem invading others' privacy. Just as he figured out what it was and how to use it, Rukia disturbed him.

"Naruto," she began, as Bon jovi's 'You Give Love A Bad Name' began to play, "We're going to have to go to Soul Society tomorrow."

Naruto looked up at her expectantly, wondering if they had found a way to send him home. Rukia sensed Naruto's train of thought.

Shaking her head, she continued, "No, it's not that, it's just that we have to present you to the Captain Commander. He has to be made aware of, and assess the situation. We're in a time of war, so we can't keep secrets from each other. Also, we've lost a valuable ally in the war, Ichigo, so the Gotei 13 has to determine if you can be trusted and if you will be able to replace Ichigo for the time being, that is, if you want to help, of course. And the 12th division also needs to meet with you to gain information, as they are going to be assisting with the research on how to return you and Ichigo." She finished, looking intently at Naruto.

"So, you don't trust me?" he asked innocently, chocolate brown eyes sparkling. It was strange to see that look on Ichigo's face.

"Of course we do, this is all just formality of course, and to inform those of importance in Sereitei," she said defensively, not wanting to hurt the feelings of the orange haired boy that sat before her.

"Oh, I get it. So you're going to introduce me to your leader?" he said, a picture of Tsunade taking form in his mind.

"Yeah, him, and the other captain's and vice captains." The image in Naruto's head quickly morphed into that of the Sandaime as Rukia spoke.

"Rukia, of course I'll help you fight, but first, you'll have to fill me in on exactly what's going on," Naruto stated with a smile, all fired up and ready to go. He had been filled in on the main working s of the shinigami on a normal basis, but he understood the circumstances which governed the events right now were far from normal. He had heard in passing about the war which was being fought, but did not have the details. Rukia proceeded to fill him in, on every fine point, even those that weren't on official reports. Fully clued in, Naruto stood up, fists clenched.

"Of course I'll help you kick that teme's ass!" he blurted out through clenched teeth, "Let's go!"

"Naruto, stop rushing, we still have to go to Seretei tomorrow, we'll make plans for battle from there!" the small black haired girl said, pushing him back onto the bed, "I swear, I can't tell the difference between you and Ichigo when you're being hasty like this," she finished, smiling.

.........

Okay, so the old guy was nothing like Tsunade, or Sarutobi, for that matter. Even Naruto could tell that this was someone that you didn't mess with. He even surprised himself when he didn't call him 'old guy' or 'gramps' or something along those lines. He just stood there, silent and respectful. He looked up at the intimidating bearded figure, the creases and lines on his wise face, the staff in his hand which seemed to radiate power and the long grey beard that nearly dragged on the ground. There was no doubt in his mind that Yamamoto Genryusai was powerful; ancient and powerful. They were in a closed room, with Yamamoto sou-taicho at the front, and two lines of captains on either side. Naruto bowed before the old man, and introduced himself.

He observed that all eyes were on him, observing him so fixedly, that he could have sworn they were peering into the very depths of his soul, which, he thought grimly, they probably were. He was an enigma; Kurosaki Ichigo's body, with an overwhelming reiatsu to match, but different, so very different.

They continued to stare, as Yamamoto addressed him.

.........

Rukia was waiting patiently outside the Captain's meeting for the verdict. She was pacing from side to side as the door opened, and the room emptied. She saw Naruto walking out aside Ukitake-taicho. She made her way toward him anxiously.

"I told them how I just happened to end up here," he started, "I think they're kinda shaky on buying that part since I have no explanation as to why," he continued, "But for now, they're going to trust me," he finished with a beaming smile.

A wave of relief washed over her, and was evident from her change in posture and facial expression.

"That's great!" she announced, wrapping Naruto in a hug.

"But they say they're assigning me to a division to train under, seeing as I'm new to all of this, and they don't want any slip ups, they're still working out the details, and I have to go meet with the twelfth division when I have time to see if they can do anything about the switch," he paused here and scratched his head confusedly, "Um, and everyone keeps wishing me good luck about that, do you know why? The twelfth division taicho wasn't at the meeting so I couldn't meet him now."

Rukia laughed nervously, thinking about the experiments Mayuri might want to perform on Naruto, no need to scare the boy, now was there? So she replied, "No, idea."

"Oh, and the nice taicho with the long grey hair invited me to dinner," he went on with a smile.

As Naruto finished speaking, said taicho walked up to them.

"Oh, Naruto-kun, don't forget, dinner, you too, Kuchiki, you have to meet the new vice captain," he proclaimed brightly, as he headed toward the exit with Kyoraku in tow. Rukia's mouth was opened wide in astonishment. After so many years, her taicho had found a replacement for Kaien-dono. She couldn't believe it. Part of her didn't even want to accept it, but she had to, everyone had to move on, and in times like these, they couldn't afford to be short on personnel, well, more than necessary that is, and they were already down three captains.

"Rukia, you okay?" She was wrenched from her musings by the worried voice of Naruto.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered, trying to regain her composure, "Come, I'll introduce you to the others."

.........

Naruto was having lunch with Rukia and her friends.

"So, this is the reason why you _abandoned_ me in Heuco Mundo, eh?" Renji stated, for the tenth time.

"Oh, Renji, give it a rest, it's not our fault you managed to get separated from the group, and when we got Orihime, and the other complications arose, we just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. It's not like we left you behind on purpose, we didn't even notice you were missing!"

"What?! You didn't notice I was missing, after I was risking my life and my job to help you!"

"Stop being such a baby," Rukia continued, grabbing Renji by his shihakusho, and glaring at him menacingly, "Unless you want me to tell everyone what happened that time in district 21 of Rukongai when we were younger..." she trailed off.

Renji paled, and dropped the topic immediately. Yeah, blackmail always works.

Naruto enjoyed watching them, they seemed like such great friends. At Renji's words however, he grew curious.

"Wait, so how _did_ you get out of there?"

If possible, Renji got even paler, and gulped. "You do _not_ want to know," he stated matter of factly, shaking his head.

"Anyways, Naruto-san," Kira attempted to steer the conversation off its current course, "Where are you from?"

The vice captains were aware of the basics, that Naruto and Ichigo had swapped bodies and that Naruto was now working with them in place of Ichigo, but not much else.

"A place called Konoha."

"Hmm, I've never heard of it," he continued.

"What a beautiful name," Yumichika commented.

"That's because it's in another dimension, or something like that, I'm not really too sure," Naruto said.

"So that's where Ichigo is?" Ikkaku yelled, "That bastard, he's hiding from that fight he promised me in another dimension?! You wanna fight?" he more demanded, than asked Naruto, pointing at him with Hozukimaru. No one even saw Ikkaku draw his zanpakuto.

"Um, what?!" Naruto said, taken aback by the sudden outburst.

"Sit down, ikkaku," Yumichika commanded, "The taicho will want to get to him first.

Naruto wasn't too sure how exactly he should take those statements, but no one else seemed too bothered by it, so he just continued his conversation with Kira.

"So, you were a shinigami in that dimension?"

"Nope, I only got these powers since I came here," Naruto explained, "I used to be a ninja," he elaborated, receiving quite a few sceptical looks from his audience. They continued to mingle, getting to know each other and swapping stories. Naruto learned that Rukia and Renji had been best friends forever. Really, like _forever_; they weren't exactly as young as they looked.

After lunch, Naruto and Rukia accompanied Renji back to his division.

"Your friends are, um, interesting," he said to them.

They laughed, "You have no idea," Rukia said.

"Yeah, you haven't even scratched the surface of 'crazy' yet, just wait till you meet Rangiku, or Kyoraku and Nanoa," Renji continued.

"Or Kiyone and Sentaro,"

"Or Mayuri," Renji stopped laughing, "Actually, hope you don't meet him, he's a whole different level of crazy, more like psycho, and scary, and deranged, and...and..."

"Renji, I think he gets it," Rukia said, laughing at the horror-struck look on the red head's face, and the equally confused one on Naruto's.

"Ah, we're here," she announced, following Renji into sixth division headquarters

"We're going in?" Naruto queried.

"Yeah, I thought we'd visit nii-sama," Rukia stated.

"Eh, okay."

They entered the pristine hallways of the sixth division. Naruto noticed the quietness and efficiency with which everyone was carrying out their designated tasks, he just couldn't really fit Renji in with this environment. He also couldn't believe the perfection with which everything was being done. Renji noticed the awestruck look on Naruto's face, and proceeded to explain, "Amazing, huh. It's because taicho's a perfectionist. He needs everything done properly, on time, and at least triple checked if he's to be satisfied, so people in this division have an amazing work ethic," he proclaimed with a smile.

"Except for one," Rukia commented, pointing at a mountainous pile of paperwork which was threatening to topple over the side of the table at the left side of the room they had just entered.

"I'll get to it when I have time, jeez!"

"I swear, you're as bad as Matsumoto!"

Naruto was chuckling at the bickering pair, when the tall, handsome man with long, flowing black hair whom he had seen earlier at the captain's meeting entered the room. The very magnificence of his presence, and the air of authority that encircled him commanded the attention of everyone in the room, which brought what was now the not so friendly argument of Renji and Rukia to a halt.

"T..taicho, I was just about to finish this paperwork when they interrupted me," Renji blurted out, busying himself with the pile.

"Nii-sama, it's been so long since I've seen you!" Rukia said, not making direct eye contact with her brother, "I just came to make sure you were well, and to thank you for your help before."

Naruto found the lack of affection and closeness with which Rukia addressed her brother weird, he also took a few seconds to make himself believe that this godlike creature was indeed her brother.

"I'm fine," he responded. "I see that idiotic friend of yours can't even stay put to be rescued properly," he continued, gesturing at Naruto.

"We're working on figuring out what happened to Ichigo and Naruto here," she stammered out.

"Yes well, you may go on with your work," he said with a tone of finality, gesturing toward the door and ignoring them completely, immersing himself in his work.

Naruto had grown increasingly enraged over the course of the conversation. The nerve of that guy, who did he think he was? Naruto didn't care how awesome he was, nothing gave him the right to be the cold, pompous, arrogant bastard he was being, much less toward his sister. Naruto wanted to yell at him, and tell him to at least seem interested in what his little sister had to say, be a bit encouraging maybe, not give off an air of go-away-and-stop-being-a-pest-can't-you-see-I'm-too-above-you-to-give-a-damn. Rukia, on the other hand, did not seem perturbed by this, and both she and Renji seemed to sense Naruto's train of thought, and were both shooting him warning glances.

For once in his life, he decided he'd take the high road out and leave the prick be...for the while, he couldn't stop his fuse from blowing if he was pushed too far. He also decided to be the bigger person; though Byakuya had barely acknowledged his existence, he graced him with a friendly, "Laterz dude," before turning to depart. A vein began to throb in the noble's forehead.

"I am to be addressed as _Kuchiki-taicho_!" he said, not losing his calm demeanour, but somehow, simultaneously conveying how irritated he was. He practically made that simple statement seem like a threat, like, 'Call me taicho, or I tear you limb from limb, slowly and excruciatingly, while I have your nerves attached to a pain amplifier! Meanwhile, I'll have Renji make you watch as he tears out your organs and roasts them over a slow fire, then he'll force feed them to you for dinner! Mwahahaha!' but the calm he kept made it seem more terrifying.

A vein to rival Byakuya's was now throbbing in Naruto's forehead, and one of his eyes was twitching as well. He was not one to take well to pompous jerks, much less disguised threats from said jerks. He was about to turn around and give Kuchiki-_taicho_ a piece of his mind, when Rukia, sensing a cataclysmic explosion, grabbed him by the arm and dragged him bodily from the room before he realized what was going on.

He was fuming, ready to erupt. They stopped in the hallway, giving the short tempered used-to-be blond some time to cool off and clear his head.

"Naruto, just let Nii-sama be, he's not that bad a guy, you just have to get used to him. And trust me, you'd have been worst than dead if you'd said anything back there, he's not one to mess with."

"That teme. I can take him, I'll smash in that pretty face!"

Rukia looked at him pleadingly, "Don't start anything, that's just how he is."

"Fine, but only because you asked."

Naruto turned, still fuming, to leave. He and Rukia walked past a black butterfly, heading to the direction from whence they came. Naruto was walking hastily. The faster he left, and the further away he got from the wannabe male model, the better for everyone. That damn pretty boy!

He was almost to the exit when he heard the soft, yet clearly audible voice of the captain he least wanted to see say, "Uzumaki Naruto."

He stopped. Why the hell was _Rapunzel_ calling him? Or should it be Snow White? Yeah, that seemed more fitting.

"Naruto, I think that means he wants you to come."

"What for? And why should I?"

"You really should, before he gets angry."

"Hmph!" Naruto childishly crossed his arms and secured his feet to the floor, refusing to move an inch.

"Oh, for Christ's sake!" Rukia groaned, grabbing fistfuls of orange hair and pulling the stubborn idiot back to her brother's office.

.........

"Why the hell do I have to do this?" Naruto groaned, helping Renji clean the garden at sixth division compound.

"I know it seems like a stupid job, but taicho needed us to do it, so we have to."

"Not why do I have to clean the garden, why do I have to listen to _him_?" Naruto grumbled, "But now that you mention it, what type of stupid task is this to give to a lieutenant?!"

Renji ignored the last part of the statement and answered, "Because, Yamamoto-soutaicho put you under the sixth division for training, and he's the taicho. I know how you feel, but though he's an uptight, pompous jerk, he actually is a really good, and admirable person, and really _powerful_."

Naruto snorted at his statement.

"Really, you do NOT want him as your enemy, you'll see what I mean once he starts training you."

.........

The night wind rustled through Sasuke's black locks. His feet had carried him to a little lake. He sat on a nearby rock, watching the moonlight bounce off the water's surface. The serenity was soothing. Clearing his mind, he began to think. Had that dream meant anything? There was no way, if there was any cryptic meaning behind it, it was that Naruto was such a nosy pest, he was now infiltrating Sasuke's mind, chasing after him even in his dreams. That was it.

'_Dammit, after that experience, I'd welcome nightmares about Itachi, or the massacre of the clan anytime'_ he thought to himself, and then chuckled mentally at what he was saying.

Shifting his focus on more important things, he began thinking about what he was trying to do. Madara had revealed himself to Sasuke, and narrated the hero's tale of Itachi, he then proceeded to ask Sasuke for help to crush the village that had brought so much suffering upon him and his family. At that moment Sasuke's mind was thrown into turmoil, a swirling mass of chaos, which to this day, had still not subsided. Sasuke wasn't sure what to do, if he could believe and trust Madara. And even if the tale was true, wouldn't doing what Madara wanted be destroying the exact thing Itachi worked so hard to protect, one of the things he sacrificed his life for? Sasuke needed to escape from his emotions to think straight, but that was the most difficult thing to do. Instead, he and his team had fled, taking a vacation of sorts as he formulated, and carried out his crazy, absurd, and desperate plan.

What had initially been a very meek and childish thought in the back of his mind had grown, feeding on his desperation, and became his sole objective. Finding some way to communicate with Itachi, if even for a second, was his goal. Ludicrous as it was, Sasuke pursued it wholeheartedly. Of course he did not reveal the insane details of his plan to his companions, they didn't even have an inkling of his main objective.

Gathering information on his own, ceaselessly and with dedication, he had finally found it, a jutsu that was supposedly able to pull the deceased from the spirit realm for a short period. With the help of his team, Sasuke obtained the jutsu, which required time and colossal amounts of chakra, and proceeded to execute it. However, he never finished, due to a certain blond Kyuubi container. He was still recovering from his first attempt at the jutsu, and it would be a couple days before he could attempt it again. He hoped when he did, the jutsu worked as supposed. It was ironic that while his brother was alive, he didn't want to hear any excuses, or explanations, only to kill him, and now that he succeeded, his only wish now was to speak with him, he alone could clear the confusion in Sasuke's mind; this, said Uchiha truly believed.

Sasuke was distracted from his thoughts by a ripple on the lake, as a leaf came in contact with its surface. The moonlight dance on the water's disturbed surface, reflecting at different angles off of the crests of the water waves. Then a voice said, "Why so pensive?"

Sasuke looked up to see the black cloak with red clouds rustling gently in the night wind. He was not surprised to see the figure of Uchiha Madara sitting on a tree branch, with his mask obscuring his face from view; he could only evade the Akatsuki leader for so long.

"So, you decided yet?" Madara asked, in his Tobi voice, "Tobi'll give you sweets if you come!"

Irritated, Sasuke replied, "I need more time."

The elder Uchiha's tone changed drastically, as he gruffly demanded, "How much time do you need, time for what exactly, what are you planning?"

"Nothing, I just need to sort out my thoughts," Sasuke replied, and with a grin, he added, "They're _complex_, so I doubt you'd understand." With that last statement, he got up to walk away, but stopped, eye's wide, when he heard Madara's casual parting comment, before the masked man disappeared.

.........

Naruto had spent the most of the afternoon doing menial tasks around the sixth division; his real training would start the next day. He decided that he'd put up with Byaku-teme, as he had dubbed him, to be able to master his skills as a shinigami, and more so, to show him what he was made of. No one looks down on Uzumaki Naruto. Renji told Naruto that he could stay with him while he was in Soul Society, and Naruto accepted, so he headed to the apartment of the lieutenant to change, and head off to Ukitake's.

He met Rukia outside of the Kuchiki manor, which he found with directions from Renji. His jaw dropped when he saw the place; it was huge!

"Y..Y..you live here?" he stammered loudly [AN: yes, it's Naruto, so even if he's stammering or stuttering, it can, and will, be LOUD], while pointing his finger in a very Naruto-like way. Rukia just grabbed him by the collar and pulled him along.

"Hurry up, we don't want to be late," she said to Naruto who was still pointing and gaping at her abode.

They arrived at Ukitake's and were seated. Naruto looked around, amazed. The place was no Kuchiki manor, but it seemed that the white haired taicho was pretty well off as well. Kiyone and Sentaro both introduce themselves to Naruto. At the same time. While trying to talk louder than the other, and to cover the other's mouth. Naruto managed to decipher, that they were both self proclaimed, Ukitake-taicho's favourite, and his number one helper.

Naruto chuckled as he saw both of the third seats fighting over who would pull Ukitake's chair out for him, which resulted in both grabbing the chair, pulling it and toppling over with it. While they were righting themselves, a door opened, and a slim figure walked in.

"Ah, you're here," Ukitake smiled pleasantly, ignoring the antics of his third seats.

Both Rukia and Naruto turned their heads to see the new arrival, which they supposed was the new fukutaicho. It was at that moment that Rukia concluded that the Naruto accusatory finger point would be the hand gesture of the night, though judging by the way Naruto was glaring at the man, the conversation and hand gestures had more than a slight chance of taking a turn for the worse.

Naruto, upon seeing the man, had pointed, stood up, and screamed, "You!" as loudly as possible, simultaneously.

Everyone turned to face him, and Rukia prepared for the worst. Really, he and Ichigo were one in the same; there was no way things would progress smoothly.

* * *

**Hmm, who's got Naruto so riled up? What did Madara say to Sasuke when he left? Will Sasuke really get a haircut? Tune in next time and let's hope I answer those questions, cuz knowing me, I might totally forget, and completely miss the point of the chapter I originally intended to write. Oh, and two questions that most likely will never be answered, are:**

**1. How **_**did**_** Renji escape from Hueco Mundo?**

**&**

**2. What really did happen when they were younger that Rukia's using for blackmail?**

**Unless of course I get bored, make something up, and find a way to stick it in.**

**Reviews are appreciated!**


	7. Stay Still

7. STAY STILL!

**Okay, so this chapter is only Naruto, no Ichigo. There will be switching back and forth between POVs, sorry if that causes any confusion. Enjoy.**

It was a bright night. The moon was high and full, perched above in the speckled, velvety black canopy, throwing a serene light on the surroundings. I welcomed the peace that reigned over the area. It was a peace I was certain to be long lasting, after all, I was heading to dinner with Ukitake taichou, what could be more tranquil?

With a smile on my face, I pushed open the door, ready to be greeted by the same warmth that pervaded throughout the entire thirteenth division, instead, I was greeted by a loud "You!" and a very tall orange haired young man pointing an accusing finger at me. He seemed greatly angered about something, what that was, I had no idea. Sitting behind him was a young woman, with short black hair, looking as though she was having a mental battle as to whether she should facepalm, fade into oblivion, or start berating the offending young man for his rudeness. I figured she must be Kuchiki-san, and he, the substitute shinigami, both of whom I had heard much of from Ukitake-dono, as well as others.

I blinked confusedly at the young man who was _still_ pointing at me, his mouth still hanging open in shock; he really was an idiot. Furthermore, I had no idea what I could have done to offend him to this extent. I stared at him, confused. Everyone else was either looking at me, him, or shifting glances back and forth between us both. The girl seemed to have finally decided on what course of action she should take, after much deliberation.

She grabbed his hand, pulling it to his side, then shot him a warning look and she kicked him furtively behind the table, hoping to be unnoticed. Lets just say, she was no ninja. What followed was the most awkward silence I have ever experienced in my life, and trust me, there've been some really awkward ones.

In an attempt to break the deafening still that had fallen upon the night, I cleared my throat and said, "I'm sorry, do I know you?" politely, knowing full well I had never met the orange-head before; I was certain of that, as my memory was in tip top condition.

"Hell yeah, you bastard!"

Okay, this time the short girl didn't try to be sneaky, as she slapped him for everyone to see. Ukitake-taichou tried to intervene.

"I think you're making a mistake, you see, this is my vice-captain."

All the while, the boy was...snarling, there was no other way to describe it. And he was looking at me like I was the reason for all the problems in his life.

"Yes, I'm –" but I never got to finish my attempt to be polite, and explain. He was looking as though he was about to pounce, when the girl smacked him on the head and yelled, "Naruto, behave yourself!"

Uhoh, there was no way, no way at all. How could Naruto be _here_. Much less tall and orange, with brown eyes? But were there really two idiots in the world called Naruto...who could claim to know me? I mean, what were the odds that by some sick twist of fate and logic, I could be talking to an orange haired Naruto Uzumaki right then? But then again, the cards never were dealt in my favour, were they?

I tried to hide my shock, and, before the situation could progress further, I acted. All eyes were on the boy who had just been hit, they would never notice.

.........

I was there, staring at the bastard, trying my best not to beat him senseless, when Rukia started to hit me on my head. That girl is too strong for her own, I mean my, good. Then, all of a sudden, the scene before me warped, and I was standing in a world of darkness, a scarlet moon hanging low in the sky, painting it blood red. He stood opposite.

"Uzumaki Naruto?" he questioned.

I just growled, then screamed, "You bastard, Uchiha Itachi!"

"Yeah, I'm gonna take that as a yes."

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"I would think that would be obvious. I think you on the other hand are the one with the questions just circulating around him."

I clenched my fists and stared at him, waiting for him to make his move. He didn't, he just continued to talk.

"Hmm, how do I phrase this...what the hell happened to you when you died?!" he uncharacteristically shouted, with the most astounded look on his face. Yes, he had a _look_ on his face, as in, he was _displaying emotion!_ I know, right, hell just froze over.

"I did NOT die!" I shouted back, "I'm just visiting."

He continued to stare at me, and raised his eyebrows. Then I realized he was trying to figure out why I suddenly looked like I overdosed on carrots.

"I'm tryin a new look, you like?" I answered, and then I thought, 'what the hell, now's NOT the time to be making jokes!' but said nothing more. He dominated the rest of the conversation, if this meagre exchange of words could be called that.

"Uzumaki Naruto, we shall continue this conversation later. When we return, act as though nothing happened, and we aren't acquainted. Also, no one here knows of my past, so please refrain from mentioning it."

Why the hell was I supposed to listen to his demands? Despite thinking this, I felt compelled to follow his orders anyway, maybe I could get some answers out of him if we had more time to talk.

As he shot me a look that said 'this conversation is over', I turned to him, grinning and asked, "So, you killed all the birds or something?" pointing skyward, indicating the remarkable lack of crows flying above. I could've sworn I saw a ghost of a smile, as his fake torture world began to disintegrate. It was at that point I convinced myself I was dreaming, I mean, how else could I have gone for a casual trip to Tskukuyomi and returned without being skewered? It was madness, I tell you, complete and utter madness.

.........

Naruto was looking at the new fukutaicho with such animosity, which, I was hoping, was unwarranted. I just wanted to rewind time and injure him so he couldn't make it to dinner, I mean, it was so embarrassing. I was hoping to get off on a good foot with my new vice captain, but this was probably the worst first impression, in the living world and the afterlife. I acted without thinking and tapped Naruto on the head instinctively, in an attempt to get him to behave. Oh great Rukia, try to negate the hostility radiating from your friend with another act of violence, that'll improve his impression of you.

Naruto seemed to freeze for a split second, but snapped out of it when the fukutaichou cleared his throat and continued with his introduction.

"As I was saying, I'm Uchiha Itachi, vice captain of the thirteenth division, pleased to make your acquaintance," he continued, proffering his hand to Naruto. I was a bit scared when Naruto moved, but thankfully, he accepted the hand and shook it, all traces of hostility gone. Smiling and rubbing his head, he said, "Sorry, I think I mistook you for someone else." He grinned sheepishly, Uchiha-san smiled and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Now that I could think clearly again, and actually see what was going on around me, I noticed that the vice captain was of small build, and had a ponytail of sleek black hair, with bangs falling in his face. Thankfully, they didn't hide much of his beautiful facial features. He was quite handsome, and seemed to give off a natural glow, as well as an air of calmness and confidence. Yumichika was probably in the fourth division, incapacitated by a fit of jealousy at that moment, if he had met the fukutaichou already.

Also, I registered how dearly I wanted to smash a certain orange haired loudmouth to an unrecognizable bloody pulp just then. I was sure I was red, either from my anger at Naruto or from blushing at the gorgeous raven haired man that stood before me, or a combined effect of both.

We all introduced ourselves, and Ukitake-taichou proceeded to explain Naruto's predicament.

"Dude, I thought all the vice captains were already aware of this, what you ain't important enough?" Naruto burst out, laughing.

"I had a matter to attend to, one that needed _skill and expertise_ to handle it, so I doubt you'd be able to relate much to it." Naruto scowled, and I prayed, more than I ever had in my life, that the hostility would not resume. Thankfully, nothing more happened. The rest of the dinner passed without incident, filled with polite and meaningless chatter, and the occasional bout of banter between the two new shinigami.

After dinner, the fukutaicho left first.

"Well, I'll see you around," he bade farewell, and briskly walked out the door. Naruto and I said our goodbyes and made our departure as well. And I thanked whoever god was, even if it really turned out to be Aizen, that the night had not fallen into total and complete chaos.

.........

"Well, I'll see you around," Itachi said as he left. I couldn't help but feel he'd directed that particularly toward me. I could tell he intended to keep his promise of meeting up with me to talk stuff out, and I couldn't wait. Rukia and I followed suit, and then bade each other good night.

I looked around, but there was no sign of the former Akatsuki member anywhere. I realized he never told me where or when we would talk! I walked around, eyes wide open, searching for any sign of the elder Uchiha, but to no avail. The leaves on the trees rustled in the night wind, the atmosphere was calm, the night serene, but I maintained my vigil. After aimlessly searching for some minutes, I dedcided to call it a night; I was tired. I would have plenty opportunities to see Itachi soon.

I returned to Renji's and took up my new residence on his couch; oh, I was living the life, hear the sarcasm? But who was I to complain? I settled in, covering up with the blanket the red head had so kindly left out for me, the couch was actually quite comfy. Ahh, I felt so peaceful, drifting off to sleep, the warm blanket surrounding me, the soft cushions below me, the cold feel of...steel on my neck? What?!

I grabbed the hand that was reaching out to me and spun around to come face to face with a raven haired Uchiha, holding a kunai. Well, I was face to face with him for a moment until he dropped to the floor in uncontrollable laughter. Out of character much? I stared in bewilderment as the once feared killer of his clan was rolling around on my – well Renji's – floor, clutching his stomach with one hand and pointing at me with the other, trying, and just barely succeeding to get the words out.

"Your face...p...priceless!" he managed to choke out. Okay, someone help me here, this guy definitely was _not _the same Itachi Uchiha I knew right? I raised my eyebrows and took a frightened step back.

"Sorry about that Naruto, I just couldn't resist, I mean there are some things money can't buy. [A/N: for everything else, there's mastercard!]. And your expression; priceless."

"Um... are you okay?"

"Yeah," he said, taking a seat on my couch/bed, "I know I'm acting totally ridiculous, but it's just that I thought I'd never see someone I knew again, plus, I've become pretty laid back due to life here, the atmosphere's not as heavy in this realm, you get what I mean?"

"You've become pretty laid back? Dude, you've been dead how long? I saw you just the other day when you tried to stuff a bloody bird down my throat! Plus, there's a war going on if you didn't notice!"

"Well, what I meant was, life here isn't as complicated as before. I get to make a fresh start and move on, without people thinking that I'm just some cruel, heartless killer. I know I'll always have to live with what I did, but at least now I can repent and move on. Plus, it's kinda nice to be able to make new friends who don't judge me for being Itachi Uchiha." The raven haired man shot me a warm smile that I'd never thought could be part of an Uchiha's visage, and I suddenly understood what he meant, and sympathized with him. He was sorry for the wrongs he'd committed, and now he'd decided to turn over a new leaf.

"So, you're good now?" I asked before I even realized I had spoken.

"Well, it's really complicated as to whether or not I was good before, but for the sake of conversation, yes, I'm good now," he answered softly. Then he shot me a serious look, but his eyes remained kind, and he asked, "So, how's Sasuke?"

I knew my smile slid off of my face, as I glanced downwards, "He still won't come back, I'm guessing he killed you?"

Okay, so I know asking someone how they died isn't very nice, but I was never known for my tact, right?

"Yes, he did," Itachi answered, surprisingly smiling.

"So why won't he come back?"

"He probably needs some time to deal with it," he answered wisely.

"But it seems like there's still something he's trying to do..."

Itachi opened his eyes wider, and frowned, "He not with M...Tobi, is he?" he asked worriedly.

"You mean that guy with the mask, nah, why'd he be with...you're not thinking Sasuke'd join the Akatsuki, are you?"

"I hope not, but Tobi might have ways of persuading him, even though I've set some things in place to try and prevent that."

"No way, he'd never do something like that. I mean, he's stupid but not that stupid!"

.........

"No way, he'd never do something like that. I mean, he's stupid but not that stupid!" Naruto practically yelled. It's a good thing Renji's a heavy sleeper.

"So, you haven't given up on him?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"I won't ever. I'd chase him all the way here if I had to, because I promised I'd bring him back no matter what. I won't go back on my word, that's my nindo, my ninja way!" he proclaimed loudly, with a serious look on his face, and pointing to himself. Though I was expecting this, I was still somewhat relieved to hear it, being reassured that I had not left Sasuke completely alone, there were still people there who cared for him. I smiled at the former hyperactive blond; Sasuke was in good hands.

"So..." Naruto began, but then he shook his head as though deciding not to continue with his question. Instead he quickly asked, "How'd you become a vice captain already?"

"They're short on qualified people, and I always have been a genius at anything I do," I answered, laughing.

"Typical Uchiha," he responded with a chuckle, shoving me to the side.

"So, what're gonna do til they can get you home?" I asked, curious.

"Fight with you guys of course!"

"But you've just become a shinigami! I forbid to go and get yourself killed!"

"You _forbid_ me?" I laughed as I realized what I had said, and at the look on the blonde's face. Even the people who had the right to forbid him from doing something never succeeded in doing so. He continued, "Plus, I do not plan on getting myself killed. They're gonna train me on how to use my shinigami powers properly."

Naruto was a good fighter, I had to admit that, and maybe with some training he would be useful in the war, but this was going to cut in to my plans. As I said, Naruto could fight, except for sometimes overdoing the shadow clones, but hey, that was his style, and he could probably win against Sasuke if he had to, so I had been planning to give him some extra training to improve and refine his skills. I decided to offer anyways. With Naruto, he always had time for training.

"Well, maybe when you've got some free time you could train with me," his eyes lit up, it was time to seal the deal, "I could teach you some really cool jutsu."

"Of course, when do we start?" he asked over excitedly.

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah!" he grinned, giving me a thumbs up.

"So, tell me," he started seriously, but then broke into a grin, "What's the real reason you're such a nice guy now?"

"Oh, you caught me! Kuchiki-taicho beat me to the title of 'Self-important Stoic Bastard'," I said, as I mock-sobbed into my sleeve.

.........

The morning after my meeting with Itachi, I awoke on the floor next to Renji's couch, tangled in the blanket. It took me five whole minutes to extricate myself from the comfy confines of cotton. When I finally got out and looked up, the red-head was grinning at me.

"Dude, you sleep like a log, you didn't even react when you rolled off!"

"Look who's talking," I mumbled, folding the blanket [yes, I can fold!]. Renji had slept through Itachi and my conversation last night, even when I accidentally turned up the volume a bit.

"Get ready quickly, the taicho'd be livid if we're late!"

"Oh, and we wouldn't want to get princess Kuchiki mad, now would we."

"Trust me dude, you wouldn't," he assured me, shuddering at the thought of what ever his taicho'd do to us for being late.

We arrived at the sixth division just on time, and Renji ran into the office and began to create the illusion that'd he'd been doing paperwork for at least five minutes now. I strolled in, with my hands in my pockets and took a seat at the other table.

"Baka! That's the taicho's chair! Get out quickly!" Renji screamed quietly.

As quickly as I did, Byaku-teme himself walked in, a cup of tea in his hands. Speak of the devil, and he will appear.

"Ah, Uzumaki," he said, taking his seat, "You're here."

I nodded in acknowledgement.

"Well, I've finished my paper work for the morning," I saw Renji's pout and heard his soft 'hmpf!' but Byakuya showed no indication that he did too, and continued, "So we will commence your training shortly."

.........

"So, I think we'll start with the basics, as I assume you're a complete novice to the Shinigami Arts," Byakuya did not wait for a response, but went on, "What you will need to learn, and _master_ can be split into three groups. Kidou, hakuda, and Zanjutsu. To accomplish all of these, you will need full control over your reiatsu."

I nodded. _Just great, is he going to make me do boring chakra control exercises?_

"Okay, firstly, I would like you to meditate for a while, and try to get in tune with your spiritual energy."

_What the hell, I'm just supposed to sit there, that makes tree walking seem daring and adventurous!_

"No way, let's do something more interesting!"

"You have to master reiatsu control before we move on!"

"I can already do that!"

Byakuya raised his eyebrows, "Really? Are you so stupid that you do not notice the suffocating amount of reiatsu you're releasing this very moment?! I swear, you are worse than Kurosaki."

Just then, a couple unseated officers were passing by, and were having a very hard time standing straight and trying to catch their breaths.

"I did that?" I asked, pointing.

He nodded.

"Cool!"

"Not cool, now calm down, and try to control your reiatsu. I am your superior and I order you to sit still and meditate. Get in tune with the energy within, and exert control over it!"

I complied, folding my legs and sitting in the shade of a sakura tree in the sixth division's garden. I could see I needed to do this before he could teach me more, and really, how hard could it be.

"I will leave you for now, as this may take a while, and I have things to attend to. I hope you'll have made progress by the time I come back," and with no sound but the swish of his kimono, he was gone.

.........

Okay, staying still had never been my forte. One would say I was handicapped when it came to this. I tried, I really did, but I couldn't. I had to shift every so often, then the wind would tickle me, the leaves would rustle, and I would get distracted. I just couldn't do it!

Byakuya came back to find me fidgeting. "Stay still Uzumaki!"

"I'm trying!"

"By the fact that I'm still almost drowning in your reiatsu, you've made zero progress."

"I'm trying really, but I can't even sense the damn thing!"

"Well then, you just need to try harder!"

He walked off again saying he'd return to check on me again soon. I leant back against the tree, taking a break, watching a butterfly fly in the distance. _What would Jiraiya do to get me to learn this quickly?_

_That old pervy sage, he'd probably put me in a life threatening situation, like when he pushed me off that cliff to learn the summoning jutsu!_

I looked around, but there were no life threatening situations to be found in the tranquil sixth division garden, I guessed I'd just have to do it the old fashioned way. I sat up once more, and tried to clear my mind, and sit still. At first, I began to sense a faint energy signature, but then I shifted a little, breaking my concentration. I grinned, at least I was getting somewhere, and I tried again. I'd do this in no time, and surprise that Kuchiki!

The second time I tried, it was with the same result, as was the third and fourth. By the fifth, I found I could maintain my concentration a little longer. I had now moved out of the comfy shade and was sitting with the blazing wrath of the sun burning into my skin. Ichigo would so have a tan when I was finished. The shade was too comfy, and I had found that I worked better under pressure, hence the relocation. I was now able to maintain it for quite a long time, and could sense not only my reiatsu, but that of others as well. I could sense faint energy signatures, none of which I recognized, but those of Byakuya and Renji stood out greatly, especially when compared to the magnitude of the others in the building. I could also sense the spirit particles in the air.

Then, I attempted to reel in my large reiatsu, which required even more concentration. After a few tries, it began to recede. I was overjoyed at getting the hang of it. I attempted to test my control by manipulating it a bit, letting out and pulling back in certain amounts. At first I failed miserably, I had attempted to let out a tiny tendril, but before I could stop it, a huge amount gushed out, causing the leaves on the ground to swirl about. I tried again, very carefully, and slowly. I was getting the hang of it. After practising for some time, and being able to let out desired amounts of reiatsu at will, I had noticed something; I could feel chakra flowing through my body, my chakra system was still intact and here. I attempted to do a jutsu, but I just couldn't, for some reason, I couldn't tap into the power source.

I sat back down and focused again, to verify if what I had felt before was real.

"Hey there," came a voice in my head, which sounded familiar.

"Who are you?" I questioned, not breaking my concentration.

"Oh, Naru-chan, don't tell me you've forgotten me already, after I helped you just the other day. I'm sad."

"Kaze no shouri!" I yelled in my mind as realization hit.

"Aww, you remember. Since you're done, why don't you come in and play, you don't ever talk to me..."

"But I'm supposed to be training."

"He won't mind, making contact with your Zanpakuto is part of your training! How else are you supposed to learn shikai, and bankai?"

"What?"

"You'll see in time!"

"Okay"

.........

I was scolding Abarai for getting chocolate on the paperwork, the piece in question happened to be a transfer form for our 7th seat to 3rd seat of the tenth division. They seemed to be going through third seats really quickly, and at a time when every shinigami in the force counted. To fix the problem, it would be easier if they replaced the lieutenant as she was the one who turned each bright new third seat into a shambled wreck of a man. But our seventh seat was a strong man. I had faith in him to do the job well. From what I new of him, not even Matsumoto Rangiku, armed with a bar full of sake could beat him down; he would weather the storm, and make both our divisions proud. He might even set that wayward fukutaicho straight. So, for the greater good of Soul Society, I was letting him transfer.

I was just about to tell Abarai to stop attempting to _multitask_,as he called it [I called it being greedy, and lazy],when I noticed Uzumaki's reiatsu reduced considerably, was he making progress, or did he somehow accidentally end up finding a way to kill himself. _I should go check._

_On second thought, what will be, will be, who am I to argue with faith?_

_**I second that.**_

_Glad you agree Senbonzakura._

And I continued rattling my second seat by the collar. The only thing I could think to be happy with him, was 'At least it's not Mastsumoto...or Kurosaki.'

After rectifying a few more mishaps for which Renji was to blame, I returned to the garden to check on my new charge. I couldn't sense his reiatsu at all, and he was no where in sight. Was I really overestimating him when I thought he had managed to complete his task? Should I have really checked on him earlier, did something really happen to him?

"HEY, UP HERE!"

Okay, he was fine. I looked up to where his voice came from. He was standing on a branch in the Sakura tree, _upside down!_

"Uzumaki, what are you doing up there?"

"Testing my reiatsu control, by how well I can manipulate it," he said, descending from the branch with a soft thud, "So far it's going well, I can focus just the right amount of reiatsu to my feet to walk up the tree and maintain it."

I stared at him a little. He seemed to think I was worried about the tree because he said, "Don't worry, I practised with the water walking exercise first, so I wouldn't damage the tree if I made a mistake. I only attempted tree climbing after I was sure I could control it."

Okay, so that explains why he was damp, he had fallen into the stream on one of his tries. The image popped up in my head of him flailing about in the water. I laughed in my mind, but I maintained my calm Byakuya-facade on the outside.

"Very well. Good job, we will attempt kidou tomorrow."

His face fell. "Aww, c'mon. We're done?"

"You do realize the sun will set soon? You missed lunch."

As if on cue, his stomach grumbled.

"Here," I said, tossing one of the chocolate bars I had confiscated from Renji at him. He caught it and smiled.

.........

I met up with Itachi outside of his division, and we went to get something to eat before training.

"So, what did you do today?" he asked.

"Nothing much."

"I see you learned to suppress your reiastu."

"Yeah, but that was all, unless you count the game of tag I played with my zanpakuto."

Itachi laughed, then I remembered something, "Itachi, what's a shikai and a bankai?"

Before itachi could answer, Ikkaku came in with Yumichika, laughing.

"Hey Naruto," he said, "You have no idea how funny it is to see Ichigo asking what's a bankai, seeing as it's the most used word in his vocabulary. I mean, he's always like 'BAN-KAI!'."

"He says it so often, it takes away from the beauty of the word," Yumichika contributed, while watching himself in a mirror.

"Well, see ya around," Ikkaku said, as they left, heading towards the bar.

"Okay...So what are they?"

"Well, a shikai is the first release of ones zanpakuto, and bankai, the second."

"Cool! What do they look like?"

"Well, every zanpakuto is different, and has a different ability, so it's different for each one."

"I can't wait to master bankai!"

"Well, it usually takes years of training to master bankai under normal conditions."

"So, I'll train, and work hard, and do it. Hey, do you have bankai?"

"Nope, I'm afraid even being a prodigy, it'll take quite some time for me to achieve such. It's like going from just having Sharengan to Mangekyo Sharengan."

"But didn't you learn mangekyo really early?"

"That's not the point Naruto, it'll take time, but I'm training to get there."

We left and entered the 13th division's training grounds. It was as serene as the sixth's.

"So, what are you gonna teach me?"

"A new jutsu, but first, let's have a little spar, for me to reassess your skill."

"But, I can't access my chakra network. I can sense it, but I can't use it."

"Okay, well, I know where to start, but you're not gonna like it!"

"What?"

"You see, even without the Kyuubi, yes Naruto, I know that the Kyuubi is no longer with you," he digressed, as I widened my eyes at him, "Since I realized who you were, I've been trying to sense your chakra signature, and I finally managed to a little, but the kyuubi's was absent. Anyway, as I was saying, even without the Kyuubi, you still have vast amounts of chakra, and your reiatsu is also a huge amount. Each force of energy within you is currently opposing the other. As you are in soul reaper form, your reiatsu naturally rose as the dominant of the two, and is surpressing your chakra."

"Did that happen to you too?"

"Nope. Unlike you, I'm dead, I have no chakra, as chakra consists of both spiritual and physical energy."

"But you can still do jutsu?"

"Shh. No one knows. But yes, you see, what once my chakra system now has something like a second source of reiatsu running within. I have learnt to manipulate this second type of reiatsu in a way that allows me to execute jutsu, though it doesn't pack quite the same punch as it did with chakra. If a Hyuuga were to come up to me now, and seal off my chakra points, I would not be able to do so, though it would not affect my ability to use shinigami techniques, as that relies on my primary source of reiatsu, the one like which every other shinigami here has. You follow?"

"Uhuh," I replied. And no, I was not just nodding and pretending to follow, I actually did understand what he was saying!

"You on the other hand are still alive, and your chakra system is very much intact, you just have to call it forth and be able to draw on its powers. Firstly, you have to suppress your reiatsu enough, while simultaneously calling upon your chakra, and taking control of it. After that, you will have to focus on getting both systems in sync, so neither will go dormant again. And lastly you will have to learn to switch between both in combat and use them simultaneously too, being able to use your shinigami and ninja techniques together, or in rapid succession."

"Oh, okay."

Itachi smiled wickedly, "Well, back to the meditation, I wish you luck with getting back in sync with your chakra!" he finished, ruffling my hair.

"What?!"

"Told you you wouldn't be happy!"

"Dammit!"

**Yeah, so it was basically Naruto's first day of boring training, but hey, what I wouldn't give to be him. He spent the first half of the day with byakuya, and the second with itachi. Damn that lucky bastard!! Why am I so kind to him? Well, review. Next chapter will be back to Ichigo for sure, so all of you who were waiting for the date, stay tuned! Review!**


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